Are you eligible for a Government COVID-19 grant?
A property in England and Walesthat is a “place of public religious worship” is wholly exempt from business rates under Schedule 5 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, as amended.

It qualifies if:
1. it ‘belongs to’ the Church of England or the Church in Wales, or;
2. it is registered and certified as a place of worship under the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855, or;
3. it is a church hall, chapel hall or similar building used in connection with a place of worship. Here’s the BUT! Many churches rent office space, or for various reasons, have premises that areregistered for Non-Domestic Business Rates, these are often set at zero after Small Business rates Relief is applied.
If your hall, office or another building comes within this category then under the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) all eligible businesses in England in receipt of either Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rates Relief (RRR) in the business rates system will be eligible for a payment of £10,000.
Under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant (RHLG) eligible businesses in England in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount (which covers retail, hospitality and leisure) with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will be eligible for a cash grants of £10,000 or £25,000 per property. Eligible businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of up to and including £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000.
Eligible businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000. These are administered by each District Council and full details can be found by following the link on the Council’s website. To make this easier the links are to the right. If you run into trouble with this or need assistance, your District Council or Councillor should be able to help you. Full details of the scheme and links to your local District Council are at: www.DofN.org/govgrant
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