Mid Ulster firms first to receive Covid-19 Business Recovery Grants

The £562K fund, which offers commercial premises grants of between £500 and £3,000 to support their work to help provide a safe environment for their customers and staff, opened on Monday, August 10, with 233 successful applicants so far receiving grants worth £526K.

Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Cathal Mallaghan, said ”In the current economic climate when businesses are under so much pressure not only to adapt how they work but also how their premises operate to ensure the safety of their customers and staff, time is of the essence.

“To have opened a scheme, received, assessed and issued letters of offer to more than 200 businesses in such a short timeframe is a tremendous piece of work and means that we are getting much-needed financial support to where it needs to go as speedily as possible.

“While the rural-based funding was fully committed, the final assessments from town centre businesses to allocate the remaining funds has now also taken place and those businesses will also receive offers in the coming days.”

The funding was awarded via the Department for Communities (DfC) for town centres and by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) for smaller settlements, with further investment by the Council, which is coordinating the grant scheme.

Communities Minister Carál Ní Chuilín stated: “The current environment still presents very real challenges for businesses and my Department in partnership with the Councils are working hard to support traders and reassure shoppers and visitors that our town centres are open for business in a safe way.

“The effective turnaround of the Covid-19 Recovery Revitalisation Programme in Mid Ulster is to be commended. The aim of the programmes is to fund capital works to support businesses to provide a safer experience for those visiting, shopping or working in our towns and cities.”

The Covid-19 business support grants have now closed.