Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open)

Applications for this payment are now closed

This grant became available to Portsmouth businesses from 2nd December when Portsmouth entered Tier 2, until we entered Tier 4 restrictions on 19 December 2020, when the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum) Tier 4 came into effect.

The ‘Open’ scheme is only available to ratepayers where the Local Covid Alert Level is High or Very High. When Tier 4 or National lockdown restrictions are applied, the Open scheme ceases to be available.

This is support for businesses that are not legally required to close but which are severely impacted by the localised restrictions on socialising put in place to manage the coronavirus. This support is targeted for businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector.

Initially covering the period of 2 December to 15 December 2020, a grant to cover each qualifying 14 day period will be paid to each eligible business. The grant amounts will be fixed.

Businesses with more than one qualifying property will receive more than one grant.

What you will get

• If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, you will receive a cash grant of £467 per 14-day qualifying restriction period.
• If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of above £15,000 and below £51,000, you will receive a cash grant of £700 per 14-day qualifying period.
• If your business is eligible and has a property with a rateable value of £51,000 or above, you will receive a cash grant of £1,050 per 14-day qualifying period.

Grants are based on the rateable value of the property on the first full day of the local restrictions.

Eligibility

Ratepayer that are eligible are those that are in the hospitality and leisure sector that have not been mandated to close by Government as a result of local restrictions.

Your business may be eligible if:

• The business is not legally required to be closed but is severely impacted by LCAL High and Very High restrictions.
• The business was trading at the point of local restrictions being implemented.
• The business is responsible for business rates.

Exclusions

The following businesses are not eligible:

• Businesses established after the introduction of local restrictions.
• Businesses that were in administration, are insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made are not eligible for funding under this scheme.
• Non business rates payers, or ratepayers outside of the hospitality and leisure sector

Any changes to the rating list (rateable value or to the hereditament) after the first full day of local restrictions will be ignored for the purposes of eligibility.

Portsmouth City Council will not adjust, pay or recover grants where the rating list is subsequently amended retrospectively to the date that local restrictions began. In cases where it was factually clear to the Council on 2 December 2020 that the rating list was inaccurate on that date, the Council may withhold the grant and/or award the grant based on its view of who would have been entitled to the grant had the list been accurate. This is entirely at the discretion of Portsmouth City Council, and is only intended to prevent manifest errors. This discretion cannot and therefore will not be used if it was not factually clear to the Council on 2 December 2020 that the rating list was not accurate.