Speaking on behalf of many cookshop and housewares members, Bira (The British Independent Retailers Association) has expressed disappointment that many hard-hit retailers have still not received the Restart Grant owed to them.
The one-off grants of between £2,667 to £6,000, which were announced in the Budget in March, were made available to help ‘non-essential’ businesses reopen after lockdown ended on April 12.
However, many members have told Bira that the money – distributed by local authorities – has not yet been received. One member informed Bira that its local authority website pledged the money by the ‘end of April 2021’, but this was changed to ‘end of May 2021’.
Andrew Goodacre, Bira ceo, said: “We are disappointed to hear from members that there are ongoing delays with the distribution of the Restart Grants. In our view these should have been with business owners before the shops opened and now we are in May and still too many independent retailers are waiting.
“All the data is with the local authorities as this is not the first time grants have been sent to businesses and we urge all local authorities to re-double their efforts. Shops may be open, but the owners still need all the support that is owed to them.”
Top: Shops have been open since April 12, but many are still waiting for Restart Grants. Photo by Amina Filkins.
