ARG grants – Important Information

As you know, we work with associations across the events and hospitality sector – The Showman’s Guild and NOEA have shared this valuable information on ARG grants showing the councils that are still accepting applications.

We understand that it can be a frustrating process but please please take the time to read this all the information below and apply for an ARG grant if you haven’t already done so.

There are 34 Councils who have given out Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) to those without Business Premises the following 15 councils have given Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG) to small businesses without Business Premises.

They are (Grouped according to the Guild’s geographical Sections)::

Northern Section area: 1. Durham County Council;

Yorkshire Section area: 2. Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, West Yorkshire; 3. Kirklees Metropolitan Council, West Yorkshire; 4. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council., South Yorkshire;

Lancashire Section area: 5. Bolton Council, Greater Manchester (Lancs.). 6. South Ribble Borough Council, Lancashire;

Midland Section area: 7. Birmingham City Council; 8. Coventry City Council; 9. Wolverhampton: City of Wolverhampton Council, West Midlands;

Notts & Derby Section area: 10. Derby City Council;

Western Section area: 11. Cornwall Council, Truro; 12. Wiltshire Council, Trowbridge; 13. Somerset & West Taunton Council; 14. South Somerset District Council Yeovil; 15. Dorset Council (new wider area since April 2019 covering 6 former councils); 16. Gosport Borough Council, Hampshire; 17. New Forest District Council, Hampshire; 18. Gloucester City Council;

Eastern Counties Section area: 19. Dunstable Town Council, Bedfordshire; 20. West Norfolk Council, Kings Lynn; 21. Breckland Council. Dereham, Norfolk; 22. East Suffolk Council, Lowestoft; 23. South Norfolk Council, Norwich; 24. Kettering Borough Council, Northamptonshire;

London & Home Counties Section area: 25. Uttlesford District Council, Safron Walden, Essex; 26. Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, Kent; 27. G Folkestone & Hythe District Council (Formerly Shepway) Kent; 28. Gravesham Council, Gravesend, Kent; 29. London Borough of Southwark; 30. London Borough of Richmond; 31. Brighton & Hove City Council, Sussex; 32. Lewes District Council, East Sussex; 33. Buckinghamshire Council; 34. Waverley Borough Council, Godalming, Surrey.

• If you live in one of these areas and have either not applied, or have applied and been rejected for not having Business Premises; then do apply / reapply now.
• If you do not live in one of these areas, but have either not applied for the ARG or have applied and been rejected for not having Business Premises; then apply / reapply in your area – quoting these 34 places as evidence that your council should follow suit.
• In all cases, include the CEO of the Council and your local MP in copies of your application / complain to them both if you are rejected.
• Remember to keep all copies of all correspondence related to applications, including screenshots on your phone of online applications.

A reminder of previous advice on applying for the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG):

For those who have been applying for Local Authority Grants, if you have been unsuccessful, keep trying and include writing to the Chief Executive of your local council and your local MP. We have seen research showing that many Local Authorities have considerable amounts of undistributed money.

More on the Government’s Additional Restrictions Grant Guidance….

please note the following useful clauses in the Government Official Guidance:

“How much funding will be provided to businesses?

Section 22.Local Authorities can determine how much funding to provide to businesses from the ARG funding provided, and exactly which businesses to target.

Section 23. However, we encourage Local Authorities to develop discretionary grant schemes to help those businesses which – while not legally forced to close – are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to control the spread of Covid-19. This could include – for example – businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, or businesses in the events sector.

Section 24.Local Authorities may also choose to help businesses outside the business rates system, which are effectively forced to close – for example market traders.”