A deadline is looming for a government support scheme.

Applications close on Saturday (April 30) for the Business Premises Support Scheme (BPSS).

It provides grant assistance to support local businesses in designated sectors who operate from commercial premises and have been financially affected by 25% or more by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BPSS opened for applications at the end of March and eligible businesses were invited to apply online through the Department for Enterprise website.

The Business Premises Support Scheme operates in two parts and, dependant on specific eligibility criteria for each, a business may be able to claim for either or both parts of the scheme for multiple commercial premises.

lPart one: Rates Payment element.

This offers financial support in the form of a grant payment to eligible businesses, equivalent to a business’s annual rates bill for each of its commercial premises.

This is not a rates rebate and applicants will still be required to pay their rates bill(s) as usual for each of its commercial premises.

lPart 2: £250 payment element.

This offers a one-off payment of £250 for each of the applicant’s commercial premises within the hospitality and catering sector that would normally open on Saturdays and/or Sundays and either closed earlier than usual or didn’t open at all on either Saturday 27th or Sunday 28th February 2021 in line with government advice issued that weekend.

The second part includes commercial business premises which are registered with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture as a food business, such as coffee shops, cafes and restaurants.