Local businesses in Great Yarmouth had a tough time during the worst of the pandemic, with many being forced to shut or others having their consumer base severely depleted due to a public reluctance to venture out.
Between 24 March 2020 and 14 July 2021, Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) gave out 11,718 grant awards to local enterprises, totalling nearly £63,876,781, with smaller grants made available through the Local Enterprise Partnership. These grants help save businesses, jobs and personal livelihoods.
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was felt across the Borough, particularly on key sectors such as hospitality, leisure and retail, ensuring the survival and recovery of local businesses was key to supporting the wider long-term plans of Great Yarmouth. GYBC also wanted to sustain confidence in Great Yarmouth as a place to invest and provide employment opportunities and promote the place as a good quality of life for the people who live, work, study in the area.
The local authority recognized that a pragmatic approach would be needed to support businesses and therefore the council provided a holistic support package. This included the distribution of government COVID-19 support grants to businesses at speed and funding business advice, support and guidance.
Nationally, local authorities understood that each place needed a tailored approach which responded to regional variations whilst maximising national support. Councils paid out over £19 billion in business grants. GYBC were quick to work with their local businesses to ensure that places could reopen in a safe and manageable manner. Throughout the various lockdowns, our Conservative controlled Council provided support and advice to local businesses via a range of phone and online options, and were quick to mobilise in order to address the specific economic issues that they faced in their areas be this related to high street challenges or the visitor and culture economy.
Turning to wider-a-field, businesses across the UK have received almost £80 billion worth of emergency government-backed loans during the Covid crisis, and over 1.6 million loans – including Bounce Back Loans and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans - approved between April 2020 and May 2021. Businesses continue to benefit from a wide-ranging package of support, including the Recovery Loan Scheme.
Government-backed loan schemes have supported businesses of all sizes across the UK, ranging from big manufacturers and exporters which have received Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loans (CLBILS) loans, to innovative tech companies which have benefited from the Future Fund, as well as the millions of smaller businesses which have received a Bounce Back Loan (BBL).
GYBC promised to stand by local businesses at every stage of the pandemic and they have delivered on that promise. I am proud of the extraordinary extent of support we’ve offered since March last year – and GYBC will continue to back businesses as we recover from coronavirus.
As the local economy continues to recover and demand returns, GYBC will keep its focus towards helping it to adapt and support businesses to grab hold of new opportunities.
