Arrangements have been put in place to enable eligible local Wirral businesses, which haven't had help before, to apply for a new discretionary grant of between £3,750 and £13,500.

The funds have been made available through the Additional Restrictions Grant, administered by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which has earmarked the support for those businesses which have so far not met the strict Government criteria in other rounds of financial aid, and are likely to be struggling as a result of ongoing pandemic restrictions.

The window to apply for this new Local Business Support Grant is open from 10am today and will close at 5pm on Friday, 26th February.

Applicants are advised to read the guidance notes and checklist before they begin the online form as it has to be completed in one sitting. All the relevant information and advice to help with the process is now available here on the council website.

Wirral Council is urging people to apply as soon as possible, as the available pot of money may not be sufficient to award grants to every eligible local business, so it will be allocated to those which meet all the necessary criteria and have the correct supporting documentation, on a first-come, first-served basis.

The six authorities, Wirral Council, Sefton Council, Liverpool City Council, Knowsley Council, St Helens Council and Halton Council, each responsible for administering the grant, have agreed to focus the assistance on eligible micro and small businesses, including home-based, sole traders and charities, which can demonstrate a loss of more than 40% of income following the onset of the pandemic restrictions.

Any business which has previously received a Hospitality and Leisure Grant from Round 1 or Hospitality, Leisure and Retail Grant (Expanded Scheme) Round 2, a "top-up grant," a Taxi Driver Support Grant or is eligible for Local Restrictions Grant (Closed) is NOT able to apply for this discretionary grant.

Councillor Anita Leech, Chair of Wirral's Economy, Regeneration & Development, said:

"We are doing our utmost, within the limitations of the funding we have available, to support as many of our local businesses as possible. We recognise these are challenging times and not everyone meets the criteria set by Government for other sources of grant aid. If you have not received any grants to date and you are eligible for the Local Business Support Grant, please apply quickly. We are only able to open this window for a brief two-week period and demand for this discretionary funds will be high."