A £500,000 fund has been created to help small businesses in the East Midlands affected by the recent floods.
The East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) announced that the £500,000 Flood Recovery Fund would support small and medium-sized businesses that have suffered following severe flooding in the region.
From today small businesses in the East Midlands that have suffered loss of trade or sustained damage to premises or stock can apply for a grant of up to £2,500 each to help with their ‘immediate recovery needs’.
Businesses have been advised to contact their regional Business Link service to access the fund, at which point they will be allocated an adviser who will assess their need for funding.
John O’Reilly, Business Support director at EMDA, said: “We have witnessed significant flooding across the region over the last few weeks and we are aware that many businesses have been adversely affected.
“We have agreed that EMDA will make financial support available to help these businesses cover uninsured losses and allow them to recommence trading as soon as possible.”
Last week, Yorkshire Forward announced that it was investing £1m into a similar fund for small businesses in the Yorkshire and Humber region.
Advantage West Midlands has yet to decide on how much funding will be available for businesses in the West Midlands area, the government said.
Communities minister John Healey, who is coordinating the government’s contribution to recovery from the floods, commented: “I welcome this responsibility to ensure that the local authorities who are leading the flood recovery efforts receive effective, coordinated support from central government departments and other national and regional bodies.
“We want to see communities, householders and businesses hit by the floods return to normal as rapidly as possible.”
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