BUSINESSES in York are set for a six-figure cash boost to help them recover from trade impacts caused by the Omicron variant.

City of York Council says it is to give £300,000 of extra support to local businesses as part of the third round of Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funding.

Just before Christmas central government announced a further £102m would be given to local councils to support businesses severely hit by the variant but were not able to receive any other form of Covid-19 grant support.

York’s share of this ARG top-up is £300,786.

The council is currently developing a process to allocate this top up and says it will announce details shortly.

Aside from this third ARG top-up, City of York Council has previously received £7,489,016 of ARG funding out of which £7.2m has already been allocated to support local businesses.

From the existing ARG fund, the council will allocate £106,000 to extend the previous ARG regime for the period from 18 July to 20 December 2021 to support businesses reliant on international travel and therefore experiencing significantly reduced income.

A further £50,000 will be allocated to expand the budget for the council’s successful Business Growth Voucher Scheme, supporting existing commitments made to applicants, and another £50k to support a broader range of festivals and events to take place across York.

Cllr. Andrew Waller, the council’s Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning, said: “Although national Covid-19 restrictions have lifted, this remains a very challenging time for many of our local businesses some of whom saw cancellations hit their business over what had been hoped to be a busy Christmas period. The key aspect here is to maintain jobs across the city recognising that some businesses are under pressure.

“The Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme has been a lifeline to local small businesses. The latest round of our ARG scheme aims to support sectors most severely impacted by the rise of the Omicron variant including travel and tourism, companies dealing with events, and the wide range of hair and beauty sector as well as other businesses missing out on previous Government schemes for whom we have been making representation to Government.”

Cllr. Darryl Smalley, the council’s Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities, said: “Like many parts of our local economy, the events sector in York has faced major financial hurdles due to Covid-19. The ARG fund has previously supported safe, large-scale events across the city, such as Jorvik Viking Festival, York Food and Drink Festival, York Design Week and Aesthetica Film Festival which were a huge success and delivered a much-needed boost to both our economy and wellbeing.

“This additional £50,000 support will ensure that more engaging events can be organised - ensuring that all residents have something exciting to pop on the fridge calendar, as well as securing York’s world-renowned reputation as a city of experiences as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”