Welsh flood grant scheme opens to help storm-hit businesses

A £2.5m flood relief fund has been opened to help Welsh farm businesses recover from damage and disruption caused by storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge.

The Business Flood Relief Grant provides funding for small and medium enterprises facing the immediate costs of recovery.

A maximum of £2,500 is available per business to ensure that they remain solvent through disrupted trading periods.

Initially there was some doubt over whether farm businesses could apply.

See also: Herefordshire farmer reveals flooding devastation

But they have been given the green light to apply following talks between NFU Cymru and the Welsh Government.

“We are now able to confirm that farm businesses are eligible and should provide their CRN reference in the application,” an NFU Cymru spokesman said.

Only small and medium enterprise businesses (SMEs) are eligible, which means those with fewer than 250 employees and a turnover lower than £44m.

The fund is administered by Business Wales and will support those with the immediate costs of recovery not covered by insurance, the union spokesman added.

The Business Flood Relief Fund is open to applications from 11 March 2020 to 20 August 2020, subject to funds remaining available.

Who can apply?

The grant can only be claimed by businesses that meet the following criteria:

• The business must be an SME based in Wales  
• The business needs to demonstrate that it has suffered severe disruption as a result of storm Ciara and/or storm Dennis and/or storm Jorge
• It must have been directly affected by the weather event – ie, flood damage to the property,equipment, and/or stock
• Alternatively, it must have been indirectly affected by the weather event ie, the business has had no – or highly restricted – access to premises, equipment and/or stock as a result of flooding; restricted access for customers, suppliers and/or staff; suffered loss of trade and have issues with regards to wages for employees.

What does it cover?

Funding can only be used to cover costs that cannot be recovered from insurance, and only one application is allowed for each business.

Costs incurred could include:

• Clean-up of equipment – generators, dehumidifiers, lighting, brushes, power sprayers etc
• Building and stock security
• Costs associated with getting IT and electricity up and running
• Temporary accommodation costs
• Specialist advice to help you work out what to do, such as legal advice
• Anything to help you get open and trading again
• Grants can be paid against items that have already been purchased (after the date of the flood), and/or items which the business has not yet bought.

All applications will be considered on an individual basis and payment of the grant is at the absolute discretion of the Welsh Government.

How to apply

Businesses will need to provide details of estimated affected costs to their business and evidence of business address. They must also provide photographic evidence of the damage

Online: Businesses can apply for the grant using a Business Wales application form.

By phone: Contact the Business Wales Helpline on 03000 6 03000.

Email queries to: floodrelieffund@businesswales.org.uk