MORE than 100 York businesses affected by the rise of the Omicron variant have received a share of £223,511.

City of York Council has made the grant payments to eligible businesses via the latest phase of additional restrictions grant payments.

Businesses with outstanding applications must submit all pending information by Friday, March 25, 2022 to allow enough time to assess and verify all applications.

The council opened a new round of the ARG funding last month for those businesses hit by the variant who had not been able to receive any other form of Covid-19 grant support.

This came after the government’s announcement to allocate a further £102 million for local authorities through ARG funding. York’s share of this top-up is £300,786.

The council received 195 applications from local businesses, out of which 105 eligible businesses have now received funding worth £223,511.

The council said it was working swiftly and was determined to distribute the remaining funding to businesses in need of help before March 31, 2022.

Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for economy and strategic planning said:"The council has made grant payments to the majority of the total applications received under the additional restrictions grant.

"The scheme has previously proved to be a lifeline to many small businesses and the latest round aims to support sectors most severely impacted by the rise of the Omicron variant.

"We thank businesses for their patience and understanding whilst officers process their applications and conduct the necessary checks.

"I encourage businesses with outstanding applications to submit all necessary documents by Friday, March 25 2022 to allow our team enough time to verify all applications.

“The council is determined to process the remaining applications swiftly so that businesses get these grants as soon as possible.”