With many village halls across the country closing due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the loss of income for many community buildings across the country has placed pressure on management committees to ensure that their buildings can survive.
We are urging village halls across the county to check whether they are eligible to apply for the government business support grants. We have received confirmation into RCAN that Village Halls in Nottinghamshire have been successful in applying for financial government support for businesses and are encouraging other halls to check their eligibility for this support.
Most village and community halls should be eligible for either:
- 100% business rate relief (the Expanded Retail Discount or ERD) which is available to places of public assembly. Guidance on the Expanded Retail Discount can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-retail-discount-guidance
- The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant (RHLG). The RHLG is £10,000 for premises with a rateable value up to £15,000 and £25,000 for premises with a rateable value over £15,000 and less than £51,000. Further details of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding
You can view your rateable value at the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) website under the business section by entering the hall’s postcode or rating reference. The VOA website can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/valuation-office-agency
The Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Grant is being administered by district councils across the county and so we are urging halls to consider the guidance provided by ACRE here: https://acre.org.uk/rural-issues/coronavirus-rural-halls-and-small-charities and check whether they would be eligible to apply for financial support during this time.
On 2 May 2020, it was announced that discretionary funding was being made available for organisations who were not eligible for funding through the above scheme (details of the announcement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/top-up-to-local-business-grant-funds-scheme ) with local authorities awaiting guidance on how this funding would be administered.
Halls are threatened with permanent closure following financial difficulties at this time. To lose even a single village hall when they could have accessed this support but were unaware it was available to them would be a tragedy. Village Halls provide so much to rural areas, they are the focus point of many lives, events, and communities and provide vital services and countless social benefits which enrich rural life.
Please share this article with those in your local area to ensure that all halls are able to access the financial support available at this time. Speak to halls in your area about whether they can apply. Call up neighbouring villages, post to village websites, share, share, share alike. If you are successful in receiving support, shout about it! Let other halls know that there is a possible support system available for them.
