A third wave of funding will become available for businesses in east Cambridgeshire affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

East Cambridgeshire District Council has published details of its third round of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme.

The ARG scheme is designed to support businesses impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions in place from December 26 2020 – February 15 2021 that have not been eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant.

The ARG is a discretionary funding scheme managed by the district council to support businesses during periods of lockdown relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants will be paid as one-off grants and are for businesses who experienced a loss of income of over 30 per cent, that was directly related to, or as a result of, the Tier 4 and national lockdown restrictions in place between December 26 2020 and February 15 2021.

Councillor David Brown, chairman of the finance and assets committee, said: “The council knows that this is a challenging time for local businesses, so we are pleased to be able to offer another round of discretionary funding for those who have not been eligible for previous schemes.

“We urge businesses to check their eligibility in order to ensure they receive the funding they are entitled to.

“It is also important to note that the eligibility for these grants is not the same as the Local Restrictions Support Grants and the Closed Business Lockdown Payment and aims to open up funding further to those who have not been recognised by these grants.”

As part of the ARG scheme, closed businesses that do not have a business rates account may be entitled to £5,000 if they are a community facility such as a village hall, £5,000 if they operate from a domestic property or ££6,000 if they operate from a commercial property.

Open customer-facing businesses, with or without a business rates account, that were allowed to be open during Tier 4 restrictions and the national lockdown but were severely impacted, are eligible for a £4,000 grant.

Businesses can apply online, by emailing covid19businessgrants@eastcambs.gov.uk or by calling 01353 665555.

The closing date for applications for the scheme is 5pm on March 19 2021.