Persistence has paid off for Louise Austin of Austin Leisure who has received a further £8,000 one-off grant from Swindon Borough Council after turning to bacta for help.
Louise was supported in her claim by Sonia Kharaud, senior consultant at Interel, bacta’s public affairs agency, who has become highly skilled at approaching local authorities on behalf of businesses seeking grant supports. She said, “I was extremely happy to be able to help Louise receive more funding for her business. I have learned that you really do have to persist in these cases and go back even if you have been told ‘no’ the first time.”
“I am so pleased to receive this grant which will make a big difference to us, it’s been a very tough time and we have received so little support. I am very grateful,” said Louise.
The one-off grant awarded to Austin Leisure is the equivalent value of the Restart grant available to other businesses with the same rateable value.
John White, bacta CEO said: “We have been telling members not to give up when it comes to applying for grants. We have seen similar businesses in the same street with wildly different outcomes. We are very grateful to Sonia for stepping in and offering her expertise to help members to achieve fairer awards from their local authorities. While we cannot make any guarantees and we cannot pursue cases for each and every member, we will try to help members like Louise whose businesses have been overlooked by their local councils. If this applies to you please get in touch with bacta and we will see what we can do.”