UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund

Grant funding opportunities across the South West

As we approach the end of 2023, I thought I would have a look at recent announcements re business focused grants and support funded by UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Please note that Cornwall is covered here.

But first a reminder that the post EU regional funding regime consists of two main pots of funds: UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund. This has been allocated to regions though the network of Local Authorities. This does not make keeping track of developments an easy task as although some areas like Cornwall have a unitary authority, others like Devon are administered by several authorities.

Recent grant announcements

Recent announcements for business grants and support funded through UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund in the South West include the following:

*Area*	*Scheme*	*Grant size/ Project size*	Announcement – more details
Mid Devon	Mid Devon Prosperity Programme, themes include: Field to Ford Business Growth and Innovation Visitor Economy (Sustainable Tourism) Work Hub Development Scheme	Looking to support one or two big projects of up to £50k* and a cluster of small to medium projects circa £1k-£20k.	Open for EOI Mid Devon Prosperity Programme – MIDDEVON.GOV.UK mid-devon-prosperity-programme.pdf (middevon.gov.uk)
Dorset (excluding BCP area)	Business Grants towards: Digital technology and innovation Research and development Business growth and exports	Grants from £2,000 to £20,000 per business. Your business must provide 100% match funding in cash.	Closes for Applications on 31 January 2024 Business grants from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – Dorset Council
South Hams and West Devon	Grant schemes include: Decarbonisation grant Agri-tech grant Clean diversification grant	Grant size varies for each programme but max appears to be £10k with 50% match required	South Hams and West Devon Prosperity Schemes Open for Business – Heart of sw growthhub

Suggestions for those looking for grant funding

Grant funding is often an essential component of a business’ funding package for a project. If you are looking for grant funding to make a project possible and it is not eligible for support by Innovate UK (essentially R&D funding) or one of the programmes run by Defra (aimed primarily at agriculture businesses) I would suggest:

Checking out your local authorities website e.g., if your business is based in BCP Council Funding and grants | BCP (bcpcouncil.gov.uk)
Checking out / registering with your areas Growth Hub (Growth Hub finder at LEP Growth Hubs | The LEP Network)
There are also grant finder tools that can be accessed e.g. Find government grants – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

We do try and keep on top of the grant funding opportunities available for business across the South West. Whilst we have expertise in assisting clients with grant applications, for smaller grants such as those in the table, it would not be financially viable for you to get us involved. Hopefully though you find the information provided enough to be able to access the grants and support that you need.