A council has received government funding to support businesses affected by COVID-19.

Maldon District Council has received around £785,000 to support businesses who are not eligible for either Retail and Hospitality Grants or Small Business Rates Relief.

Grants of up to £10,000 are available and business must confirm or provide evidence of the following criteria:

-Businesses with relatively high ongoing fixed property related costs which occupy property, or part of a property, with a rateable value or annual rent or annual mortgage payments below £51,000.

-Businesses which can demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the Covid-19 crisis

-Business with fewer than 50 employees

-Businesses that were trading on or before 11th March 2020

Central Government has also identified the following as priority businesses for this grant funding:

1) Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces. Examples could include units in industrial parks, science parks and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment

2) Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment

3) Bed & Breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates

4) Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

Applications close a midnight on Friday, June 19.