Half of Omicron grants now paid out to North Norfolk businesses

Date published: 16th February 2022

North Norfolk District Council have now paid nearly half of the Omicron Hospitality & Leisure Grant (OHLG) to all eligible business in North Norfolk

The OHLG was set up in early January to help businesses operating in the Hospitality, Leisure and Accommodation industries affected through the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, with each eligible business able to claim up to £6,000

North Norfolk was allocated over £8m, the largest for any authority in Norfolk, to support over 3,000 businesses in the sector, who continue to be affected by the economic impacts of COVID.

NNDC’s award winning Grants Team have now paid out £4.2m to 1,474 North Norfolk businesses – 52.3% of the Government allocation to 43.3% of eligible businesses in the district.

It is expected the Council will award grants over the total allocation of £8m, which will be funded by central Government, allowing the economic relief for more eligible businesses without the restriction.

As of 30 January, NNDC led national figures for paying out the most business grants in the whole country and ranked third for the total amount paid out, just behind Manchester City Council and City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

Nearly 1,600 eligible businesses are still yet to apply for the grant, which has a cut-off date of Friday 18 March 2022, after which applications cannot be accepted.

Payments will be made by 31^st March, following the relevant fraud checks.

Reminder emails have been sent to businesses encouraging them to apply.

View the OHLG guidance here

If your business is not eligible for the OHLG, it may still be eligible for the Omicron Hospitality & Leisure Additional Restrictions Grant (OHLARG)

View the OHLARG guidance here

Cllr. Richard Kershaw, portfolio holder for Sustainable Growth said:

“The NNDC award-winning grants team have now paid out over 50% of grants to 43% of businesses in North Norfolk.

You are entitled to up to £6,000 per business to cover the effects of Omicron. Please do not let this opportunity slip”

The Grants team are award winning, and comprise of officers from Revenues, Finance, IT, Economic Development, Communications and Customer Services.

NNDC was recognised for this, having been awarded at the 2021 Public Finance Awards and a high commendation at the IRRV Excellence in Innovation

Alongside the two apprentices currently delivering vital economic support to North Norfolk businesses, there are currently two apprenticeship vacancies in the Revenues team – you can find out more here.