Nottingham City Council is due to get an extra £1.8m from Government to help businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Taxi drivers will be able to apply for £200 to cover cleaning costs of their cabs and Victoria Market traders and similar traders affected by lockdowns are able to apply for £17,350.
Employment and skills organisations can apply for £20,000 while independent retailers opening a new city centre business can apply for £5,000.
There will also be a new business start up fund of £2,500.
The grants will be distributed to businesses via an open grant application.
The council’s Executive Board is set to discuss the framework of handing out these grants on Tuesday, October 19.
The Additional Restrictions Grant is specifically available for local authorities to provide additional support to impacted businesses with local discretion.
Ongoing consultation with businesses has identified a number of gaps that previous grant funding has not supported, or where local businesses still have significant challenges due to reduced income or additional costs as a result of Covid-19.
Key issues identified by the council include the retail and hospitality businesses still reporting reduced custom; ongoing low footfall within the Victoria Centre Market due to the ongoing effects of lockdown and a declining market environment, and taxi drivers continuing to experience a reduction in income due to lockdown and a smaller hospitality and business market.
Other concerns include high levels of vacancy within the city centre, particularly surrounding the Broadmarsh area; low new business start-up rates within the city and businesses experiencing significant recruitment and skills issues within Nottingham.
The council says the proposals are to remove barriers to “business survival and growth, therefore safeguarding jobs and supporting the local economy.”
Due to the need to support some sectors quickly, the framework for taxi drivers and the Victoria Centre Market has been agreed separately via a delegated decision.
The funding must be spent by March 31, 2022.
