£1.3 million in business rates support claims processed in a week by Wrexham Council

Wrexham Council have moved quickly to process claims for economic support, many from small local businesses.

As part of a range of pandemic economic support measures from UK and Welsh Government businesses could be eligible for grants of £10k or £25k based off their business rates – with entities that currently pay no rates, due to getting small business rate relief, also eligible.

Wrexham Council opened the scheme a week ago, well ahead of some nearby local authorities, and many businesses have seen the cash hit their bank accounts already.

We are told the council’s finance department have been working long and hard to ensure payments are validated and processed as quickly as possible after the deluge of claims lodged over the last week.

In the announced measures business are eligible for:
– A grant of £25,000 for occupied businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sector with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £51,000, or
– A grant of £10,000 to businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief with a rateable value of £12,000 or less.

Both grants are only available to firms on the business rates register as of March 20th, 2020.

So far Wrexham Council say they have paid out £845,000 to cafes, shops, hairdressers and other types of businesses in Wrexham as of yesterday, with a further £525,000 due to be paid out by tomorrow.

Wrexham Council said, “This financial assistance is vital in helping to safeguard our local economy and jobs, and we’re continuing to process grants on a daily basis.”

“If you run a business – please make sure you’re aware of the different help that’s available. It could make a huge difference in helping your business survive this emergency.”

The online form  where people can apply can be found via https://beta.wrexham.gov.uk/service/covid-19-help-businesses.

Wrexham.com is aware of numerous businesses where the claims have been submitted, remittance confirmation sent, and payment cleared already. Others have been in touch thinking there has been no progress, querying if they need to re-apply and some noting they did not get any email confirmation on submission, however they should sit tight.

We are aware of applications completing the process with payment that did not get any email confirmations on submission of the claim (and we don’t believe any were sent at the point of submission). Before payments are made directly to the bank account for which details have been provided, a remittance will be emailed to the applicant, so it is worthwhile them keeping an eye out for that.

For those looking up their current rateable value or similar details as held by the Valuation Office you can find their search form here.

The Council’s page also contains a summary of the new 100% relief for businesses as well as the qualifying criteria for the 2 grants.

People are urged to read the guidance before completing the form, with it also clearly stated any erroneous or incorrect claims will have to paid back in full.

Wrexham Council added, “If you need more information, or want to know about other support packages, contact our Business and Investment team on 01978 667300 or [email protected] “.