Hospitality business owners have called on Harrogate Borough Council to release government grants of up to £6,000 that were created to help them through the Omicron wave.
The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme was announced in December to help businesses that faced cancelled bookings and staff isolating over winter.
But almost two months later, some businesses in Harrogate are still waiting to be paid.
Two hospitality business owners, who asked not to be named, told the Stray Ferret they were unhappy that the council had not released the funds yet.
The Times published an article this week that said UK councils were sitting on over £850m of funds intended for businesses.
The Stray Ferret has seen an email from the council to one of the business owners dated a month ago. It said a decision on its application for the grant would be assessed within 10 days. The business owner called the delay “a joke”.
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David Simister, chair of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce said “it’s simply not good enough” that the council has not distributed the grant yet to all eligible businesses.
However, he said some members of the chamber had received their grant.
Mr Simister said:
“From speaking to chamber members in the hospitality sector, some have received grants whilst others are still waiting.
“The announcement of Plan B dealt the leisure and hospitality sector a huge blow, just as businesses were gearing up for an extremely busy Christmas and New Year, and were relying on these takings to help them through the lean months of January and February.
“This grant was to go some way to recompense for the loss of trade and earnings, and if businesses are still awaiting payment it’s simply not good enough.”
A council spokesperson said:
“On December 30 initial guidance and eligibility criteria for the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme was provided to local authorities.
“Following this date, we have been carrying out the necessary work to make applications available, which went live on our website on January 17.
“We are now processing applications in the order in which they were received, ensuring applicants meet the necessary verification and audit requirements, in accordance with government guidelines.
“We are currently allocating grants to eligible businesses – who have provided a full and accurate application – within 20 working days.”
