The Whangarei District Council has set aside $3m to provide support for community groups, businesses and ratepayers.
For this blog article we are particularly looking at support for businesses and ratepayers. You can find information regarding community supports groups here.
Rates Relief
The council is providing general cash flow assistance for ratepayers. Options include:
- Payment plans
- More time to pay
- Waiving of late payment penalties
Applications can be emailed, posted or dropped off to the council. Forms can be downloaded on their website.
Support for Business
Support Northland Inc, the Regional Business Partners programme and other agencies, will be providing direct support to Whangarei businesses.
Grant for the Hospitality Sector
There is a grant to offset 25% of licence fees for the hospitality sectors. This grant will provide relief for: Restaurants, cafes, takeaways, commercial caterers, hairdressers, commercial camp sites and some alcohol licensed businesses (e.g. liquor outlets and bars).
Supermarkets, grocery stores and dairies and other establishments who were able to trade during the lockdown are excluded from this.
You don’t need to apply for this offset, it will be automatically applied to all qualifying businesses.
Rental relief for council property tenants
Rent relief is available for tenants of Council property who cannot access their premises for trading for an additional 6 month period, if needed.
