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A business grant from the council means non-repayable funding from your local authority. Usually these are aimed at start-ups or, increasingly, ways to insulate your business and make green improvements.
What kind of grants do councils provide?
Councils usually want improvements in the community, so these are the grants you’re most likely to see.
- Job creation: Creating new jobs or taking on apprentices/interns
- Energy efficiency: Making improvements to operations such as upgrades to lighting, insulation or office equipment
- Tourism: Attracting people to the local area with new experiences and exhibitions
- Thriving high street: Reviving disused buildings and turning them into shops or hospitality venues; improving signage and shop fronts
Where to find a council business grant
Below is a list of business grant schemes offered by the council in your area. If you’re in Scotland or Wales, check out these articles:
Wenta grants
What is it?
Social enterprise Wenta provides access to grants for businesses in Bedfordshire. It can offer up to £3,000 in 25% match funding via business support programmes.
How to apply
Find out more through its website here.
Buckingham Business First Grants and Vouchers
What is it?
Buckinghamshire have a plethora of options for grants for manufacturing, growth, innovation and other areas.
How to apply
Check Buckinghamshire Business First to see what’s available.
Coventry Business Support Programme
What is it?
The grant funding can be used for the following activities:
– Relocation, expansion, and growth of existing businesses
– Developing new market opportunities
– Low carbon/energy efficiency/waste management – Green grants through the Business Energy Advice Service Programme
– Improving systems and processes
– Capital investment, e.g., new plant, machinery and equipment
– Increase in productive capacity of new and existing premisses through new property builds/refurbishment/extensions.
How to apply
For more information, complete an expression of interest form here.
Eden Tourism Grant
What is it?
A £500 tourism grant for tourism-related projects in the Eden district.
How to apply
For details see the Visit Eden website (managed by Westmoreland & Furness Council).
Invest to Grow, Derbyshire
What is it?
The University of Derby supplies grants and loans of up to £250,000 to support private businesses across the East Midlands to innovate, grow and create jobs. The following objectives will be prioritised:
– It will create new jobs or safeguard existing positions in your company
– It will increase the scope or scale of your company activity
– It will improve the company’s performance
– It has not commenced and will not be achievable in the timescales proposed without Invest to Grow support
You must be able to create jobs that can be sustained for at least three years – businesses that create higher-skilled jobs are preferred. The following sectors are also preferred:
– Manufacturing (e.g. transport equipment and food and drink)
– Life sciences
– Construction
– Logistics
– Engineering
– Technology
– Creative industries
– Low carbon
How to apply
Find out more here.
Town Centre Shop Front Grant
What is it?
Businesses located within the defined town centre boundaries of one of Amber Valley’s four market towns: Alfreton, Belper, Heanor, or Ripley can apply for funding of up to £4,000, aimed at improving and revitalising shop frontages.
The grant operates on a match-funding basis, with the contribution varying depending on the total project cost.
Total Project spend band:
– Below £1,250 – Not eligible
– £1,251–£2,500 -80% flat
– £2,501–£3,000 – Slides 80% → 70%
– £3,001–£4,500 – 70% flat
– £4,501–£5,000 – Slides 70% → 60%
– £5,001–£6,667 – 60% flat
Above £6,667 – 60% capped at £4,000
*If your total project cost is higher, you can still apply for the grant, however the maximum grant award is £4,000.
If you are unsure about the timing of your project or need further advice, please contact regeneration@ambervalley.gov.uk
How to apply
To apply, please complete an online application form.
Invest to Grow
What is it?
The Invest to Grow programme provides grants and loans of between £50,000 and £250,000 to support private-sector businesses across the East Midlands to innovate, grow and create jobs. Most awards are a mixture of grants and loans.
Invest to Grow does not support any companies which are business to consumer (B2C) focused, or in the professional services, farm-based agriculture and retail sectors.
How to apply
To register your interest, use this application form here.
Natural Flood Management (NFM) construction grant scheme
What is it?
The Herefordshire Natural Flood Management (NFM) Project aims to reduce flood risk to local communities, as well as improve water quality and enhance biodiversity, using natural flood management processes.
The NFM construction grant scheme has been designed to provide the necessary funding to help support landowners and farmers within the project’s priority sub-catchments (shown in the map below and in the detailed catchment maps) to alter their land and water management practices to slow the flow of water and reduce flood risk to downstream communities.
The grant can be used for:
– Soil management
– Over winter cover
– In field water retention
– In channel water retention
– Fencing
– Trackway
– Tree planting
– Landowner innovation
How to apply
Apply before March 2027. Find out more here.
Get Growing 2
What is it?
These grants are for SMEs based in Hertfordshire that have five or more full-time equivalent employees.
Eligible businesses will collaborate with a growth account manager who will carry out an analysis of your business and put in place an action plan including:
– Recruitment
– Accessing new markets
– Developing a digital strategy
– Product development
How to apply
You must register and find more information here.
Nelson Town Deal grants
What is it?
The grants are to help manufacturing businesses become more resilient and to help them grow.
There are three priorities for the funding:
1. Investment in new plant or machinery
2. Energy efficiency/Carbon reduction
3. Premises improvements or adaptations
The grant funding can be for up to 50% of eligible project costs. The business would meet the remainder of the cost. The maximum grant is £100,000.
For every £10,000 of grant, the business is expected to create one new full-time job.
For every £10,000 of grant the business will need to show that two jobs, which would have been at risk without the funding, have been safeguarded.
How to apply
If your business is interested in taking forward a grant funded project please request an Expression of Interest (EOI) Form from Mike Williams.
What is it?
How to apply
Business Growth Fund
What is it?
Grants of between £20,000 and £300,000 are available at variable intervention rates of up to 30%, dependent upon the amount requested, the need for grant support and the level of impact in terms of job outcomes and productivity improvements.
You could be eligible for a grant of up to 30% of expenditure, if you:
– Have a project which couldn’t proceed without grant support
– Are planning capital investment of at least £67,000
– Are expanding or establishing in the areas of Gateshead Metropolitan Brough Council, North of Tyne Combined Authority, Sunderland City Council
Grant applications must involve eligible capital expenditure of at least £66,666 as a minimum.
Your project must satisfy the following objectives:
– Securing investment into the area that will stimulate business growth and create new employment opportunities
– Overcoming barriers to make job creation projects viable, providing financial assistance to enable business growth and / or improvement projects to go ahead
– Reducing financial risk for beneficiary businesses in making capital investments
– Improving productivity and introduce new technologies and processes, resulting in increased profitability, wage growth and employment growth
How to apply
Apply using this link
Go Digital, Norfolk
What is it?
Business owners and managers can apply for a grant of up to £500 to help you implement a digital action plan. Applications are on a first come first served basis.
Your business must meet certain requirements to take part in the Go Digital funding programme:
– Your business must be based in Norfolk
– You must have fewer than 250 employees
– Your turnover must be less than £42.9M
– You must have received less than £198k in public sector funding in the last 3 years
– You have been trading for the past 6 months
– You already use digital technology in some way e.g. a website, social media account etc.
How to apply
Fill out the form on the website to apply.
DRIVEN – ESF high-level skills programme
What is it?
The DRIVEN programme provides funding and support to eligible small and medium-sized businesses to help recruit graduates and students.
Funding of £1,000 per graduated for 400 hours or more and/or circa £1,000 for fully funded 80-hour internship. No limits on multiple applications.
To qualify for the DRIVEN programme, your organisation must:
– Have fewer than 250 employees
– Be based in Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire (D2N2 area)
– Have not received more than €200,000 in aid over the last three years
– Not be more than 25% owned by an enterprise that in itself is not an SME
– Not have an annual turnover that exceeds €50 million or an annual balance sheet that exceeds €43 million
How to apply
To apply for the DRIVEN scheme, which has been extended until the end of 2023, email driven@derby.ac.uk
What is it?
How to apply
Local Growth Fund Low Carbon Project
What is it?
This project provides dedicated support and a source of funding for eligible businesses to reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions.
To be eligible to take part in the project your business must:
– Be a Small or Medium Sized Enterprise (SME), meaning 250 employees or fewer, with a turnover of less than £54 million
– Have commercial premises in Sheffield – the scheme cannot support home-based businesses
– Not have received more than £315,000 Minimal Financial Assistance subsidy over the last 3 years
– Be able to provide 12 months’ energy bills to establish baseline energy use (or however many months you’ve been in your premises, if less than 12 months)
How to apply
Find out more here.
Improving Green Spaces for Businesses
What is it?
Through this pilot, funded by Staffordshire County Council, fifteen businesses will be selected to receive up to £1,000, enabling them to create a new green space or make meaningful improvements to existing green spaces on their site. Participants will also receive expert advisory sessions to help shape their project, ensuring each green space maximises benefits to wildlife, visual appeal, and positive impact for staff and visitors.
The project aims to target underused, unkept, sites with little or no planting, or poor biodiversity value. The project will support the transformation of these spaces to maximise benefits.
Eligibility:
– Business premises located in Staffordshire (Staffordshire Post Code not including Stoke-on-Trent)
– SME businesses that are registered on Companies House (and trading for 12 months)
– Will continue to trade from their premises for a minimum of two years after the project is completed
– Own the land the green space is on, or have permission from the landowner
– Can match fund the grant with their own funds at a minimum 50% contribution
– Can ensure that site constraints and ecology of the site have been considered before any work is undertaken
Applicants will be required to join advice sessions after joining the programme (it will be a requirement that all businesses accepted will attend sessions with expert advice to develop site specific plans to maximise impact for staff, wildlife and curb appeal).
How to apply
Fill out an expression of interest form here.
Elmbridge business boost grants
What is it?
The Elmbridge business boost grants help Elmbridge businesses, local high streets and support the local economy.
The business boost grants can help your business with:
– Up to £5,000 available in grant support to help businesses improve their shop fronts or signage
– Up to £5,000 available in grant support to help bring a shop that has been empty for at least three months back into commercial use
– Up to £2,000 to help town or village wide projects to drive new footfall, investment, street improvements or sustainability
All applications require at least 50 per cent match funding and three quotes for each element.
How to apply
Complete either the PDF or Word application form which can be found here: Elmbridge Borough Council
If you require any more information, please contact us at business@elmbridge.gov.uk.
Solar for Business
What is it?
Through the Solar for Business scheme, West Suffolk Council will design, fund, install, and maintain a solar photovoltaics (PV) installation on your business’s roof. 100 per cent of the electricity generated by the system is provided for your business to use at a discounted tariff cheaper than your current electricity supplier, to help you cut your energy bills.
To be eligible for Solar for Business, the following criteria must be met:
– Annual electricity consumption of at least 5,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), this is equivalent to an annual electricity bill of £1,250 if paying 25p per kWh
– Your building must be located within West Suffolk, Babergh, or Mid Suffolk
– Your building cannot be Grade I or II listed
– If you do not own the premises, you would like the panels installed on, you must have landlord permission to join this scheme.
How to apply
Complete the Solar for Business Enquiry Form to express your interest in the scheme.
Worcestershire grants
What is it?
This programme offers free renewable energy/low carbon innovation assessments along with grants to SMEs in Worcestershire (and grants only to SMEs in Shropshire). SMEs will be encouraged and enabled to adopt lower carbon technologies – or the grant can help businesses in the clean innovation or those developing low carbon solutions alongside their normal business operations.
Some sectors such as primary agriculture and finance are not eligible.
How to apply
Find out more here.
More on grants
Business grants for women – Female entrepreneurs face unique challenges in accessing funding, which is why we’ve listed these business grants for women
Where to find green small business grants – If you fancy making your business and its operations that bit greener, these eco grants will help you get there
Business grants in Wales – If you are looking to start your own business in Wales or already run one, you could be eligible for a range of Welsh business grants
