Pub complains after missing out on grant

Pubs that missed out on grants to help move their businesses forward because of tight deadlines could be in line for extra funding.

Rural pubs in the East of England were only given a month to apply for up to £1,000 from the government's Rural Pubs Grant.

Around 80 pubs successfully applied for a combined total of around £80,000 but it is believed others were unsuccessful because they only had the month of March to apply.

Mitch Adams, licensee of the Thatchers Arms in Mount Bures, Essex, said he was given the wrong information from business support service Business Link.

He said: "This was not well advertised and we only found out about it through another pub.

"We asked for advice and were told that we could apply for money to have the floor redone but then just before the deadline I was told this was capital expenditure and didn't meet the criteria."

He also wanted to apply to help pay for the process of changing his premises license so he could extend hours and put on entertainment but he missed the deadline.

"I have wasted a lot of time and effort and I haven't got the money," he said.

"The grant was supposed to help businesses grow which is exactly what we were trying to do but because of the short time period and being given the wrong information we have missed out."

A spokeswoman for Business Link said pubs that failed to get grants would be first in line when new funds become available.

"We are hopeful that more funding will be made available later this year.

"We hope that any pub that didn't manage to meet the deadline or criteria in March will have a second chance to apply for this if it becomes available," she said.

The grants were designed to help rural pubs in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire with areas such as marketing, financial planning, events promotions and training.

For more information about grants and support services available from Business Link visit www.businesslink.gov.uk