Fisheries Minister George Eustice has confirmed to the Angling Trust that angling businesses will be eligible to apply for some of the £10 million Business Support Scheme which is providing compensation to businesses directly affected by this winter’s flooding. The Trust wrote to the Prime Minister last month seeking his assurances that angling businesses would not be overlooked.
The scheme will be administered by local authorities who have been given guidance to support businesses in flood-affected areas which have suffered either:
• Direct flood damage to premises, equipment and/or stock, or;
• Significant loss of business as a result of being denied access to their premises, equipment and/or stock and loss of supplies and customers.
As long as angling businesses meet these criteria, are based in a flood affected area in England, and are a small or medium sized enterprise then there is no barrier to them applying to their local authority for support.
In addition, angling businesses that have been flooded since December 2013 will qualify for 100% business rate relief for 3 months, regardless of how long they were flooded. Later this month, angling businesses will also be able to apply for a new Repair and Renewal grant of up to £5,000 to contribute to work that improves a property’s ability to withstand future flooding.
The Angling Trust has registered its interest to support the Visit England campaign to support domestic tourism, including fishing, that has been launched following the floods.
The Trust has also recently launched a new web site in partnership with the Environment Agency and the Met Office at www.fishinginfo.co.uk with maps of thousands of places to go fishing, river level data and weather forecasts.
Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal said:
“We welcome the Minister’s confirmation that angling businesses are eligible for flood relief funding and urge all fisheries, clubs and tackle shops that have been directly affected by the floods to contact their local authority to apply for this support. There was a real risk that our trade could have been overlooked which would have been monstrously unfair as Angling directly employs 40,000 people and contributes nearly £4 billion to the economy, mainly in rural areas. This business infrastructure is vital to angling, which is enjoyed by nearly 4 million people. Some tackle shops, fisheries and clubs are very close to having to shut up shop as a result of the dreadful conditions this winter.”
