EFFORTS to attract more people into York city centre and boost trade are being supported by a fresh wave of funding.

Make it York and York BID which play ay a key role in supporting a vibrant city centre will share £90,000 for projects, such as a new art trail, to boost city centre footfall and bring more custom to local shops.

The allocation comes from City of York Council as it distributes the remaining pot of Government funding earmarked for business support to help York’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

The council has received £7.7m to date from Government under the additional restrictions grant (ARG) scheme to support businesses severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.

Of that, £7.5m has been spent on initiatives to strengthen York’s economy, including £6.6m paid directly to local businesses as grant support.

Of the remaining funds, the authority will also provide £120k to York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub to deliver a programme of support to help businesses and to strengthen their resilience.

Andrew Raby, manager of the Growth Hub, said the funding would make a real difference to small and medium-sized businesses in the city.

"The York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub is an experienced team, providing free and impartial business support, which is tailored around the needs of our region and this funding allows us to significantly increase that support.”

Sarah Loftus, managing director, Make It York, said the ARG funding would go towards an art trail in York later this year.

"We will be working with partners to develop the trail and will unveil the plans over the coming months. This is a really exciting project and will be lots of fun for everyone.”

Andrew Lowson, executive director, the York BID, said the BID was pleased to be able to help the city's recovery.

"We have done this successfully in the past with our outdoor seating projects and we will ensure this funding is specifically used on projects this year to encourage footfall and benefit trade for our businesses.”

Cllr Andrew Waller, executive member for economy and strategic planning, said the ARG scheme had been a lifeline to local small businesses. It has also supported the council's business growth voucher scheme that funded 434 projects in York, connecting businesses wanting support with local providers."

The council has also made grant payments worth £245,012 to 116 eligible businesses affected by the rise of the Omicron variant.

This came after the government allocated a further £102m for local authorities through ARG funding. York’s share of this top-up was £300,786.

Businesses were asked to submit all pending information by Friday, March 25, and the council will now distribute all remaining top-up funding via an additional top-up payment.

This will ensure that all remaining ARG funding is distributed before March 31.