Business Grant applications close

Local businesses have expressed their appreciation for the Council’s support, now that all government funding made available throughout the Covid pandemic has been distributed to businesses.

Throughout the pandemic the Council’s Economy team worked tirelessly to distribute government grants to over 7,000 businesses across the Borough with the final amount paid out totalling £33.3 million. Applications are now closed.

The funding became available when the country was thrown into a national lockdown, with many businesses forced to temporarily close. The government was able to allocate money to councils around the country and support places that were significantly impacted by the closures.

The Economy team at Eastleigh Borough Council worked hard to ensure that businesses in the Borough received the financial support that they were entitled to during the pandemic. Throughout the crisis they have received many messages of thanks and appreciation from the companies they helped.

Business owner, Mat Playford of Earth Wind & Fire Farm, said: “We grow peppers and chilli plants and during Covid restrictions we received a lot less business than we'd have liked.
The Support from Eastleigh Borough Council has been an incredibly rewarding process; it has allowed my company to become net zero in energy usage and allowed us to increase our production by 500%; ,it's changed our outlook from being worried about the future of the business to being very excited about the summer ahead and the next."

Owner of Dasic, manufacturer of tank cleaning machines, Amanda Murray, said: “The Business Grant has helped us plan some much needed factory refurbishment to reduce on our soaring energy bills and lower our carbon footprint. Without the grant it would have been impossible for us to fund the improvements. Reducing overheads and increasing our green credentials are both vital initiatives for us to secure our future.”

Following the final payments to the Council’s business community all applications for grants have now closed and will no longer be processed.