Business and investment

Our district is in Tier 2 ("high alert") restrictions until further notice.

The gov.uk website has the detail on what this means for your business.

Support remains in place for businesses affected by Covid-19. The government website has advice on funding, help for self-employed workers or sole traders and how to run your business safely if it is permitted to open.

Applications are now being accepted for the government's Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG). Your business may be eligible for a grant if it:

• is situated in the Harrogate district
• occupies property on which it pays business rates (and is the ratepayer)
• has been required to close for at least 14 days because of the restrictions
• has been unable to provide its usual in-person customer service from its premises. For example, this could include non-essential retail and personal services that operate primarily as an in-person venue, but which have been forced to close those services and provide a takeaway-only service instead

Your business won't be eligible for the grant if:

• it is not rated for business rates purposes
• it has not been ordered to close or stop trading
• it was not operating before the restrictions were imposed

Find out more about the LRSG and the eligibility criteria on the government website.

Your business may be eligible for a grant of up to £3,000 depending on the rateable value of the business premises. If your business has more than one eligible premises you will receive a grant for each one.

Apply for a Local Restriction Support Grant

The deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Sunday 6 December.

Support for businesses affected by Tier 2 restrictions

We have been given additional money to support businesses who will be affected by these new restrictions.

This will be available to eligible businesses in the leisure, hospitality, hotel and bed and breakfast sectors. This is because the restrictions may mean a business cannot trade in full and could be severely impacted as a result.

We are working hard to get this new scheme up and running as soon as possible and anticipate it will be able to accept applications from mid-December.

Please keep checking this page for updates. Full details of the application process will be posted here when the scheme opens.

Retail businesses permitted to open for longer

If you own or manage a retail business in the district you can now extend your trading hours from 7.30am to 10pm Monday to Saturday only without the need to apply for permission to do so. These changes are in place until 30 January.

Your business must continue to operate in a Covid-19 secure way at all times.

If you are considering extending your trading hours, we encourage you to balance the impact this will have on neighbouring residents and businesses:

• speak to your neighbours about your plans before you open up
• listen to their concerns no matter how small they maybe to you
• tell them how you will address their concerns
• keep them informed
• make sure they can easily contact you

If we receive complaints about your business while extended hours are permitted, or we suspect Covid-secure regulations are not being followed, we will investigate and may take action if necessary.

We've put together a business toolkit to provide you with practical safety advice, guidance and supporting materials to help your business operate safely while the Covid-19 pandemic continues.

Business toolkit

North Yorkshire County Council has also produced a set of publicity materials which may be useful to your business.

For updates on other support and advice in the Harrogate district, please consider subscribing to our business newsletter.

Find out what this means for your business.

There is now a transition period until the end of 2020 while the UK and EU negotiate additional arrangements. The current rules on trade, travel, and business for the UK and EU will continue to apply during the transition period.

New rules will take effect on 1 January 2021. Check how to get your business ready for the new rules by visiting www.gov.uk/transition

There’s further information on our dedicated EU transition period page which includes details of the EU Settlement Scheme.

For details on how your business can benefit from free support services please visit our web pages and contact us at [email protected]. Please keep updated by following us on Twitter and subscribe to our free e-newsletter.