Athlone Chamber President, Alan Shaw, has welcomed the payment of grants of €112,000 to 32 various businesses across Westmeath under the grant scheme for outdoor seating and accessories for tourism and hospitality businesses.
Speaking following a Failte Ireland briefing, the Chamber President advised businesses that the deadline for applications for this grant is Thursday, September 30, and applicants can apply for a grant of up to €4,000.
“We know that Westmeath County Council received 55 applications, with 32 approved to date. It is critical that the remaining 20 applicants submit the outstanding information ahead of the September 30 deadline.
“In addition, we know that there are other tourism and hospitality businesses that are eligible for this grant and simply have forgotten to get their applications in to date.
“The window is closing, but we believe that the final number of applicants will reach 75 by the end of this month. We also know that Westmeath County Council have confirmed that the deadline cannot be extended,” Mr Shaw asserted.
The aim of the scheme is to provide support to individual independent hospitality and tourism businesses towards the cost of equipment to provide additional outdoor seating and facilitate these individual independent businesses to increase their outdoor dining capacity for summer of 2021.
The following is the list of eligible expenditure - outdoor tables, outdoor chairs, umbrellas, electric heaters, screens/windbreaks and outdoor plant stands.
