A £2 million council plan to help the Aberdeenshire economy survive the lockdown has been unveiled.
The new package is being prepared to help north-east businesses remain afloat and adapt to both the immediate and lasting impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, with the authority relocating some of its reserves, as well as existing Crown Estate and EU funding, for the project.
Councillors will meet next week to discuss the plans, dubbed the “Aberdeenshire Back to Business, Renewal and Growth” programme.
Officers have penned a report issuing a grave warning that the economic impact of the pandemic “cannot be underestimated”, and forecasting that potential outcomes are “very negative”.
The total council funding adds up to £2,060,569, the papers reveal.
Under the initiative, the cash will go towards bolstering town centres and helping companies get moving after lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Councillors have been asked, among a swathe of measures, to approve the use of up to £175,000 from previously unallocated regeneration reserves to promote town centres across Aberdeenshire with a new pot of cash called the “Phoenix Fund”.
With the fund in place, grants of £10,000 will be made available to each of Aberdeenshire’s 13 “key” town centres, and £5,000 for nine of the region’s smaller ones.
And a renewed contract with the Business Gateway service will focus on local businesses, costing £1.4 million.
Smaller grants will be available to smaller towns in the region.
The report states: “The Covid-19 crisis has had a significant and potentially lasting impact on Aberdeenshire’s economy, our communities and residents.
“The council’s economic development service has worked closely with other internal services and external partners to deliver as effective a response as possible, given the restrictions placed on all organisations and people.
“This report sets out the work that has been done to date and changes to the economic development service’s priorities that are proposed as a result of the crisis and to support a strong renewal for the Aberdeenshire economy.”
Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee will meet on Thursday to discuss the plans.
Documents also reveal that the council has issued £29.3m of business support grants as of May 1.
