Vital support for Plymouth pubs and further help for hospitality businesses

Pubs across Plymouth forced to close due to the ongoing Tier 2 restrictions will receive additional funding before the end of 2020.

Plymouth City Council will pay the Government’s Tier 2 funding directly into eligible pubs’ bank accounts, along with the £1,000 ‘wet pub’ grant.

Council Leader Tudor Evans said: “Pubs have really suffered this year and the struggle continues in the tiered system. We appreciate that these grants aren’t life-changing amounts of money, but this has been dictated by central government. Our focus is to get the funding out as quickly as possible, while making it as easy as we can. Eligible pubs that have already received national lockdown grants don’t need to do anything at all as they’ll receive the money automatically, and we’re proactively chasing down any that have missed out on grant payments so far.”

Pubs that do not serve food are unable to open in Tier 2, as alcohol can only be served with a substantial meal. The grants are based on their rateable value, and will be awarded for every 14 days the city spends in a higher tier:

• For properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, grants to be £667 per 14 days
• For properties with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000, grants to be £1,000 per 14 days
• For properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or over, grants to be £1,500 per 14 days

Councillor Evans continued: “We’re also still distributing the national lockdown funding and I’d really urge businesses to check our website and apply if they hit the eligibility criteria – there’s money up for grabs just waiting to be claimed and we want to get it into the hands of people who need it.”

If a business was required to close during the national lockdown from 5 November to 2 December – or their income was severely impacted – and they haven’t yet applied for either the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) or Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG), they can do so through the Plymouth City Council website.

The Council has also written to the taxi and private hire trade to remind them that they can apply for the ARG.

The details businesses provide in their LRSG and ARG applications will be used to determine if they could be eligible for further support while Plymouth remains in the tiered system. Grants are available for hospitality businesses that have suffered at least a 30 per cent drop in income and for pubs that make less than 50 per cent of their income from the sale of food.

Potentially eligible businesses that have applied for the LRSG or ARG will then be contacted directly by email, inviting them to reply if they fulfil the criteria for this additional financial support.

The funding available for businesses that are open but have found themselves severely impacted by the Tier 2 restrictions is also based on their rateable value:

• For properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under, grants to be £467 per 14 days
• For properties with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000, grants to be £700 per 14 days
• For properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or over, grants to be £1,050 per 14 days.

Find out more about the grant schemes at investplymouth.co.uk/business-grants.