Chichester District Council has launched a £500,000 discretionary grants scheme to support local community groups and businesses, as part of its COVID-19 recovery plan.
£250,000 will be allocated to supporting community groups and £250,000 will be allocated to supporting businesses based within the Chichester District.
Community groups and local businesses interested in the scheme are being asked to apply from 20 August 2020 at:
https://www.chichester.gov.uk/covidrecoverygrants
Applications can be made to either scheme, but not both.
“We understand how tough things have been for both our community groups and businesses during this very challenging period. Although the government has issued grants, some organisations have not been eligible to gain support, or they still need extra help. These grants have been introduced for those who need our support the most to help them on the road to recovery,” says Cllr Martyn Bell, Cabinet Member for Growth, Place and Regeneration at Chichester District Council.
“We have made the application process as clear and simple as we can and this is available at https://www.chichester.gov.uk/covidrecoverygrants” adds Cllr Roy Briscoe, Cabinet Member for Community Services and Culture at Chichester District Council.
“It is important that those who wish to apply provide us with all of the information that we are asking for, because this will be vital in helping us to make a funding decision. Both schemes will be open for up to four weeks, but they could be closed earlier if demand exceeds the available funds. So, we would advise people to respond as soon as they can. This also means that we can start helping Chichester District businesses and community groups as soon as possible.
“This is one of many things that we are doing as a council to help our communities and businesses recover from this dreadful pandemic and forms part of our COVID-19 recovery plan for the district.”
Constituted groups, including sporting and arts organisations can apply for the community grants scheme. The business grants are aimed at small businesses in the retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors with between 1.5 and 30 full time employees.
More information, including the full criteria for the scheme can be found at https://www.chichester.gov.uk/covidrecoverygrants