Last dibs into the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Focus on the South and South West

Update on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

My recent searches for grant funding for businesses in the South / South West have identified further deployments of UK Shared Prosperity Fund monies in the region which I have overviewed below.

As I suspect these may be amongst the final grant schemes funded by UK Shared Prosperity Fund (and Rural England Prosperity Fund), I set out my thoughts on the scheme which was touted as the successor to EU funding. Unlikely to be an exhaustive list.

Dorset – Business grants (round two will open in Spring 2024)

If you are a business within the Dorset Council area, you can apply for a grant if between £2k to £20k towards:

Digital technology and innovation
Research and development
Business growth and exports

Somerset – Rural England Prosperity Fund (next round of applications opens 1 April 2024)

Grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 for eligible projects which could include:

Funding (capital grants) for small scale investment in micro and small enterprises – including capital funding for net zero infrastructure for rural businesses and diversification of farm businesses outside of agriculture
Supporting local businesses looking to launch or grow their products or services
Funding for the development and promotion of the visitor economy

Somerset – Green business grants (round two to open soon)

Grants of between £2,500 and £25,000 are available. The grant can fund up to 50% of total eligible project costs which include:

LED lighting and lighting controls
Boilers, heating plant, equipment and batteries (power generation)
Heating and cooling controls
Specialist energy efficient equipment (for example, manufacturing tools)
Increased energy efficient equipment (for example, refrigeration)
Heat recovery systems
Solar installations, wind turbine, heat pumps
Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure, that is, charging points, batteries, forklifts, lifting machinery.
Smart Energy Monitoring Systems.
Associated upskilling and green skilling of new or existing staff.

West of England (Bath, North East Somerset, Bristol or South Gloucestershire) – Green business grants (open)

Grant of between £500 and £15,000 to cover between 30% and 60% of eligible capital costs of purchase and installation. The amount of grant you can apply for varies depending on the items you are looking to buy

As we have previously advised, businesses interested in ascertaining what grant funding is available including the UK Shared Prosperity Fund should make contact with their local growth hub and local authority and sign up to any newsletters being issued by them.