£160 million paid out to help Shropshire businesses impacted by Coronavirus pandemic

Shropshire Council paid out more than 31,600 grants since the start of the first lockdown, ensuring the county’s economy is best placed to bounce back and flourish.

The grants were paid over a 15-month period and have been processed by Shropshire Council, with funding from central government.

Councillor Ed Potter, Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Planning, said:

“We are delighted to say that following the closure of the varying Covid-19 business support grants, we have managed to process more than £160 million to firms across the county.

“Nobody has ever experienced anything even close to what we have gone through over the last year and a half but I want to praise the work of our team which has helped businesses the length and breadth of the county, processing a range of grant support.

“We are absolutely committed to boosting the economy and ensuring we are both attracting business and helping our local firms grow.

“This support has been vital in keeping firms going throughout the pandemic and now they can flourish going forward.”

This has included Shropshire Council distributing all of its Additional Restrictions Grant funding allocated from Government todate, giving firms in the county the best support and chance to grow and develop.

The most recent support came in the shape of funding of between £10,000 and £25,000 for firms that provide a wider economic benefit to the county beyond the business itself by directly supporting other businesses in their post Covid recovery.

The scheme was created on June 4th, launched on June 10th and all eligible businesses had been paid by June 30th, seeing more than £1.115m distributed to businesses across the county.

Councillor Potter added:

“This most recent award has been a massive success and the speed in which applications were turned around and paid out is first class.”

Some of the comments received by the council from successful applications include:

“Can I say thank you and how thrilled we are at the grant towards the cost of the new facilities.”

“This will make a great difference and be a real asset for our town and other businesses in the community.”