The £40 million Liverpool City Region Hospitality & Leisure Grant Fund is now live and Wirral Council is urging local businesses in this sector to apply for funding.

Businesses are being advised to go online to the Wirral Council website www.wirral.gov.uk/lcrgrant to see if they are eligible for a grant under the fund rules.

The fund aims to enable viable businesses to continue trading, helping to retain as many jobs as possible. In addition, it will support temporarily closed businesses to top up employee wages and to help them remain solvent in these challenging times.

The grant will be used to assist businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector to stay afloat for up to four months, until a wider and more substantial financial support package can be secured from central Government.

The aim is that the first funding will reach applicants within ten days of the grant being approved, with subsequent payments phased over the duration of the scheme.

The ‘grant application window’ is open now and will close at 5.00pm on Friday October 30, 2020.

Chair of the Economy Regeneration & Development Committee Councillor Anita Leech said: “Following the announcement of the Government to initiate tier 3 restrictions on our region, it is absolutely critical we do all that we can to support our business community during these unprecedented times.

"We hope that providing funding at this stage, in spite of the limitations imposed on us by this debilitating pandemic, will help maintain the foundations for the valued hospitality and leisure sector within our community, whilst we continue our discussions with Government for a more sustainable support package.

“We would like to encourage all businesses within the hospitality and leisure sector to check their eligibility and submit an application for funding.”