More that £10m paid out to Mansfield businesses forced to close down due to pandamic but hundreds more have not applied for funding

The council has, as of April 16, paid 893 grants totalling £10.2m – but there are still more than 400 small businesses that have not yet applied for the £10,000 grant for all businesses that receive Small Business Rate Relief.

They can apply online at www.mansfield.gov.uk/coronavirus/business and are advised to complete the form as accurately as possible to avoid any unnecessary delays.

Dawn Edwards, Head of Finance at the council, said: "We would urge those businesses to apply. We cannot just pay this money to businesses in receipt of rate relief because we don’t have their bank account details so they have to fill in the form first. We will, next week, look at other ways we can target those who haven’t yet applied.

"Our team has been working hard to process grant applications as quickly as possible and supported this by continuing to work over the recent bank holiday weekend."Processing each application does take time. We have to check each application carefully to ensure they are eligible and to weed out any potentially fraudulent claims. Unfortunately there have been a handful we have had to reject for this reason."Claimants should receive an automated email once their application is received and when they claim is paid. Businesses with queries can call 01623 463463 or email [email protected].

Among those businesses which have received a £25,000 grant is Mansfield’s Ciao Bella Restaurant and Lounge.

Owner Tam Abouelela said: “"We closed down the business as soon as the risks became clear. My main concern was to protect our valued customers and staff and to ensure, wherever possible, they were kept safe and well."Closure obviously had a huge financial impact on the business and the biggest challenges were paying the bills and ensuring that my staff continued to be paid.

"My staff are very loyal to the business and I wanted to reciprocate this loyalty by helping them as much as possible in the circumstances.”

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