Decision details

Bury Council is reacting to the ongoing developments concerning COVID–19 in relation to its business tenants that lease Council owned property. The Council is keen to ensure that its tenants are supported during this unprecedented time and that their businesses remain viable and ready to continue to prosper when this emergency is over. The Council’s tenanted estate is important to the Borough for the income that it generates, its contribution to commercial vitality of business, employment and the training of its workforce.

Therefore in response to COVID-19 and requests from many of its business tenants for rent relief, Bury Council has put together a scheme to assist businesses that may now be in a position where they are finding paying rent to the Council difficult.

The Council’s Cabinet has approved a scheme that will offer the Council’s business tenants rent relief for two months.

? Businesses whose annual rent is below £6,000 will automatically receive 100% rent relief for this period.

? Businesses who can show they have been either ‘critically’ affected or ‘significantly’ impacted will be offered 100% or 50% rent relief respectively.

There is an application process for the for business tenants where their annual rent is £6,000 or above. All information, including the application form is on a web page on the Council’s website. The Property & Asset Management team (PAM) will assess each application and inform each applicant of their decision within 5 working days of receiving it.

All relevant business tenants have been e-mailed or telephoned (where they either don’t have an e-mail address or where we have received an undeliverable message).

The scheme will be reviewed during May 2020 and further updates will be provided on the web page.

All business tenants have been reminded that despite this unprecedented time, they must continue to be compliant with the obligations of their lease.