Over £3 million has been paid to Warwick district retail and hospitality businesses that were unable to apply for national grants.

Warwick District Council's payment scheme has supported taxi drivers, the self-employed, those without premises, and businesses that were forced to close and were losing income.

Businesses that were eligible under Part E of the scheme will have recently received a top-up payment of £485 each to ensure that the remaining funds were evenly distributed.

Council leader Cllr Andrew Day said: "These grants have proven to be a vital lifeline for many of our local businesses, and I am pleased that we have been able to administer these schemes to help those that were not automatically eligible for assistance.

"I would like to thank the teams that have processed thousands of applications over the past twelve months to ensure that help was being given to those that needed it. We will of course announce any further schemes should there be additional funding supplied."

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