Businesses could be eligible for financial help thanks to new grant schemes being distributed by local authorities.

Gravesham and Dartford councils are inviting people to apply for the support available to businesses affected by the rise of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant is a one-off payment to support hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses that offer in-person services, where the main service and activity takes place in a fixed business rate-paying premises.

You cannot get funding if your business is in administration, insolvent or has been struck off the Companies House register, if additional funding means you will exceed the permitted subsidy allowance, or your business is not on the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) ratings list.

The closing date for applications is March 18.

There is also an additional top-up of discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant available.

This is aimed at supporting other businesses within the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors, or suppliers to these, that are outside of the business rates system and can demonstrate that their trade has been severely impacted by the rise of the Omicron variant.

For the latter funding in the Gravesham area, businesses which have previously received ARG grants from the council will be contacted by the council’s economic development team if they are eligible for a top-up grant, and are asked not to submit a new application. If your business has not previously received ARG funding, the closing date for applications is March 13.

For full details and to apply for either scheme in the Gravesham area, click here.

Dartford council is also welcoming applications from a wide range of sectors including hospitality, leisure, accommodation, personal care and tourism which do not qualify for OHLG but have been severely affected by Omicron. To be eligible, businesses must have been trading in Dartford on December 30, 2021.

A further grant programme will see up to £150,000 made available to suitably qualified organisations to develop events, promotions and cultural activities to support local businesses, boost footfall and support community activity as the borough recovers from the pandemic. The scope for these events will be Dartford borough-wide, not just the town centre.

Additionally, Dartford council is making grants available to traders at Dartford’s Thursday or Saturday markets. They can apply for ARG funding designed to help permanent and permanent casual stallholders who have been severely impacted by Covid-19.

Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite said: “Throughout this pandemic, we’ve been providing various support grants for businesses to make sure they can weather this difficult time. I have been humbled by some of the comments we have received for our support, but managing the recovery is every bit as important as managing the crisis.

“We are starting 2022 on a cautious, but brighter note in relation to Covid and it is time to move ahead with the town’s recovery. We’re encouraging all eligible businesses to get in touch with us to see what support we can provide. We want these grants to offer a big boost to communities, direct

support to small businesses and also help our market traders.”

For details of all the grants available in the Dartford area, click here and direct any inquiries to the Economic Development Team at businessgrants@dartford.gov.uk.