More access to Red Cross grant on Canterbury

9:38 pm on 24 July 2012

More financial assistance will be available for small businesses in Canterbury with the announcement on Tuesday that the Red Cross has widened the criteria for one of its grants.

The Independent Advice for Small Business Grant, which has been available since January, helps small or family-run businesses access the legal and accounting advice needed as a consequence of the earthquakes in the region.

A spokesperson for the business group Recover Canterbury, Pip Tschudin, says the inclusion of retrospective applications will now allow hundreds more businesses to get the financial help the grant provides.

She says up to $750 can be provided for each business.

More than 250 businesses have received the grant, which was developed with the the help of Recover Canterbury.

The grant now allows businesses with fewer than ten employees to be back-paid on costs resulting from the earthquake in September 2010.