Two councils are urging local businesses to check whether they are eligible for a new government funding pot.

New discretionary grants are being handed out by councils across the country to help small businesses impacted by Covid-19, with the grants geared at helping those in shared office spaces, regular market traders, bed and breakfasts and charities who were not able to apply for earlier schemes.

Watford and Hertsmere Borough Councils, which will allocate the funding in their areas, are calling on business owners to consider applying if they are eligible.

To apply, businesses must have fewer than 50 employees, been trading on or before March 11, 2020 and show they have had a substantial fall in income due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “Our small businesses are the lifeblood of Watford’s economy, providing thousands of jobs for local people and making a vital contribution to the success of our town.

"We know how difficult the last two months have been for many of these businesses and I would urge anyone who thinks they meet the criteria to apply for this funding."

"Our team is working flat out to process applications and to make decisions quickly so the money gets to local businesses”.

Hertsmere councillor John Graham added: “The council has moved swiftly in recent weeks to administer the government schemes that have been put in place to support the many businesses that have been adversely affected by the lockdown measures.

“This additional discretionary scheme aims to help those small businesses that may have not have been eligible for the initial grant scheme as, because of the way they operate, they are not rateable.

“Hertsmere Borough Council has already paid out more than £16.5m in government grants under the initial raft of government measures, reaching more than 1,200 businesses, around 91.5 per cent of those that are eligible.

“The council’s Revenue and Benefits team has worked tirelessly to allocate these monies and has also been reaching out to those businesses that we have on record who have not yet applied.”

Applications are open until June 16 in Hertsmere, while in Watford business owners can apply up to June 19.

For more information on the grants in Hertsmere click here

For Watford, click here