BUSINESSES in Ludlow and south Shropshire should have started to see vital money landing into their bank accounts.

Shropshire Council has processed grant applications from more than 1,800 businesses since applications opened on April 1 and the money should have started to arrive in bank accounts.

Small businesses and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, can apply for Government funding through the coronavirus COVID-19 Small Business Grant Fund, and Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.

Some £91m of funding has been provided by the Government to Shropshire Council to pass directly onto businesses through these schemes. This is one of the largest allocations to any council in the country and it is estimated that over 7,000 businesses can access this money, providing they meet the criteria.

Applications can be made now via the council website.

“This funding is a huge and vital boost for businesses in the county in these challenging times, and making sure that the money reaches those who need it as soon as possible is a huge undertaking for the council,” said Peter Nutting, the leader of Shropshire Council.

“I’m therefore delighted that our officers have been able to process almost 2,000 applications in just a few days, and that money will soon be reaching the bank accounts of those businesses that have applied for funding so far.

“If any businesses haven’t yet applied for this funding, I urge them to do so as soon as possible so that we can get the money to them.

“This funding is very welcome and will be vital to our many small businesses in these difficult times.

“We’ve never had to do anything like this before, or on this scale. We assured businesses that we would be working as fast as we possibly can, and I hope these figures show that we are doing just that.”

But there are complaints that some businesses that need help have not got any.