Financial assistance offered to inner-city businesses

Newcastle City Council has invited businesses suffering hardship from construction of the city's light rail project to apply for financial assistance.

The assistance will be made available to properties within the City Centre Benefit Special Rate Area following Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes' successful amendment to Council's 2018-19 budget.

Eligible properties are entitled to financial assistance equalling half of the City Centre Special Rate they will pay in 2018/19. Property owners seeking the rebate can only do so if they commit in writing to passing on the rebate to businesses leasing from them.

"Council took this decision to provide direct rate relief to those businesses suffering from the disruption that the construction of light rail has brought about," Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.

"We understand that their bottom line has been impacted, and this rate relief was a legal mechanism Council could use to ensure they received some financial assistance."

Financial assistance is available:

• to the tenant(s) of the property, or
• to the property owner - providing the property is solely owner occupied and no part is leased out

To access this assistance, property owners must pay at least the first quarterly rates instalment shown on their 2018/19 Rates and Charges Notice.

Then they should complete an application form together with details of tenants (with their signature) where applicable.

If more than one tenant occupies the property, a separate form is required for each tenant.

Council will then provide half of the amount they would have paid for the 2018/19 City Centre Special Rate in to the bank account nominated on the application form.

Both property owner and tenant(s) will be notified by email once Council makes the financial assistance payment is made.