Grant payments made to businesses hit by Cumbria floods

A total of eleven grant offers have been made totalling around £67,000 for small businesses affected by flooding in Cumbria.

The first flood recovery grant payment was made last Friday, following North West Development Agency's pledge it would provide £1m towards the flood recovery grant scheme at the end of last month.

The agency has been working closely with Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Government Office North West to offer the agency's full support in the efforts to assist businesses damaged by the flooding.

Business Link Northwest advisors are dealing with over 300 affected businesses and by the start of this week, 33 applications had been received.

Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, said: "While much of Cumbria is now operating as usual there are many businesses which were severely affected by the floods and do need urgent help. Immediate support can really make a difference to whether or not some of these businesses continue to thrive and I would urge affected businesses to contact Business Link Northwest to see what is available."

Suzanne Caldwell, who is administering the grant scheme for Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, which is responsible for the scheme, added: "Building on experience of previous crisis grants, for foot and mouth and the Carlisle floods, we've been able to get the scheme up and running extremely quickly. This first applications came in on the 4 December and the first claim for payment a week later – which we paid out the same day. We're absolutely committed to getting this vital support out to businesses as quickly as possible."