Businesses have received nearly £3.5 million in support from councils in the most recent set of Covid-19 recovery grants.

As part of the Omicron support grants and round six of the Additional Restrictions Grant, businesses across five boroughs of East Lancashire have received a total of £3,491,732.

The Omicron grant was available specifically to support hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses.

The Additional Restrictions Grant provides support to businesses that were severely impacted by coronavirus restrictions and the rise of the Omicron variant.

In Blackburn with Darwen, the council has paid every eligible application received, a total of 255 grants, amounting to a total of £830,722.

Several empty properties were included within applications for the £942,066 allocation given to the council; however, they were clearly not eligible for grant support. 

Director of Finance, Dean Langton, said: “I’m pleased the Council has been able to offer support to 255 local businesses impacted by the Plan B measures introduced in response to the Omicron wave.  

“The team has worked very hard to reach potentially eligible leisure and hospitality businesses with information about these grants and support them to apply.”

Burnley Council gave away more than it was provided by the Government, helping out businesses with a total of £778,027.

Under the mandatory scheme, the council spent £643,378 against an allocation of £558,045, an overspend of £85,333 which was paid for by the Government.

Under the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme, Burnley Council helped businesses with £134,649 against an allocation of £111,920 - an overspend of £22,729 from the council's Covid Reserve.

In Rossendale, businesses benefitted from £443,000 from the Omicron Support Grant and £118,000 from the Additional Restriction Grant.

Pendle Council paid businesses a total of £893,952 to business in the borough - £571,377 from the Omicron Support Grant and £322,575 from the Additional Restrictions Grant.

In Hyndburn, the last available data shows the council provided local businesses with £428,031 from the Omicron support grant.

No data has been made available for Ribble Valley Borough Council.