Covid recovery: Over £1.3m issued to Antrim and Newtownabbey businesses

Under the scheme, restaurants, cafés, coffee shops, bistros, snack bars, nightclubs, pubs, and social clubs are eligible for a one-off grant payment of either £10,000, £15,000 or £20,000 based on their rateable value.

Announcing the amount paid out so far under the Omicron Hospitality Payment, the Finance Minister Conor Murphy said: “My Department has worked at pace to deliver this scheme and I’m delighted that over £1.3 million has so far issued to hospitality businesses in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Council area. These one-off grants will provide vital support to the hospitality industry which suffered a severe loss of trade as a result of Omicron.”

Land & Property Services (LPS) contacted eligible businesses on January 19 to verify their details.

A further reminder email was issued on January 31 to urge eligible businesses to verify their details as quickly as possible to enable the Omicron Hospitality Payment to be made.

Minister Murphy added: “I encourage businesses which still haven’t verified their details to do so quickly to enable the Omicron Hospitality Payment to be made.”

The scheme has now been extended to include hotels. Land & Property Services contacted Tourism NI certified hotels by email on January 31 if they previously received a payment under the Localised Restrictions Support Scheme (LRSS).

The email included a link to an online form, where businesses will be asked to confirm some relevant information and complete a declaration in order to enable payments for the Omicron Hospitality Payment Scheme to issue.

Commenting on the support for hotels, Minister Murphy said: “Hotels are a vital part of our hospitality industry and have undoubtedly been impacted by Omicron facing cancellations over the festive period.

“I was determined to ensure hotels were not left without support and in the absence of a bid for funding for a scheme to help this sector being brought forward, my Department has again taken the lead and obtained Executive approval to include hotels in the Omicron Hospitality Payment scheme.”

The Executive has also agreed to extend the Omicron Hospitality Payment to include certain sports clubs with a licensed bar or restaurant facility. A maximum one-off £10,000 payment will be available to sports clubs that operate a bar or restaurant, have a liquor license and received less than £50,000 in total from the Department for Communities Sport Sustainability Fund last year.

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