A SUPPORT package for businesses in Northumberland forced to close during the latest lockdown has been announced.

Northumberland County Council has revealed the package, for businesses in the county which have been required in law to close as a result of the current Covid restrictions. 

The council said on Thursday that eligible businesses will be contacted by email, with payments covering a six-week period set to be made. 

The business support package for the lockdown from January 5 onwards includes two elements - the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum from January 5 to February 15, and a one-off Closed Business Lockdown Payment. 

If applicable, payment for the five days from December 31 to January 4, to cover Tier 4 restrictions, will also be included, 

A council spokeswoman said: "The amounts payable will be dependent on the rateable value of the business. 

"Eligible businesses are those which have been mandated by government to close and include non-essential retail, leisure, personal care, sports facilities and hospitality businesses. 

"They will be businesses which have submitted a successful application for the original Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum. 

"Businesses mandated to close between November 5 and December 2, which have not yet applied for the Closed Addendum grant, should do so as soon as possible.  In line with the Government’s national deadline, applications will close on Sunday, January 31 2021."

Coun. Nick Oliver, cabinet member for Corporate Resources at Northumberland County Council said: “We are extremely pleased to get this payment process underway, so that we can support businesses during the current lockdown. 

“We know that the number and type of grants can be confusing, and to make it easier, we will be emailing all of the businesses which we know will be eligible. 

“It is very important that any business which has been legally required to close, and which has not made an initial application for a Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum yet, does so before January 31. 

“We are using the details provided for initial applications to process payments for future time periods, so these initial applications are very important.” 

A full list of businesses which will be eligible is on the Gov.uk website.

You can find full details of all of the Covid-19 business support grants available in Northumberland at www.northumberland.gov.uk/businesshub