Shropshire's small businesses urged to apply for grants before funding runs out
Small businesses in Shropshire have until March next year to apply for business funding under a government grant scheme, organisers at Shropshire Council say.
Grants of between £2,000 and £10,000 are available to purchase new equipment or make improvements to business premises under the UKSPF Small Business Grant Scheme, which is being administered by Shropshire Council in the county.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund has provided £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025, with £15m ringfenced to fund projects across Shropshire, but the funding round is set to end in March 2025.
Organisers say eligible projects will help create new employment opportunities, or develop new products, processes, or services within their business.
“The recent budget announced that there would be a continuation of the funding for another year, but we are not sure how much this will be or what it will fund. Consequently, we urge businesses to take advantage of the current pot by applying as soon as possible," said Gary Spence, Shropshire Council’s external funding and technical lead officer in the Business Growth and Investment team.
"We would like as many applications before the Christmas break as possible to allow time for the awards to be made before March 2025.”
Prospective applicants need to complete an online Expression of Interest (EOI) form which are then assessed, and any projects successfully passing this initial stage are invited to submit a full application.
Nick Davis, founder of award-winning Hobsons Brewery Ltd in South Shropshire, is a recent recipient of one of the grants and used it to purchase a training brew plant.
“Buying this equipment has enabled us to launch a series of training courses for publicans, home brewers and beer enthusiasts," he said.
"We’ve offered courses before but having the training brew plant has introduced a practical ‘hands-on’ element to what our delegates can take away from the training. The courses are very popular, so now we are thinking about how we can develop these further.
"We’ve created one additional job, and it’s also had a tremendously positive impact on our inhouse R&D because our own brewers can use the equipment to experiment with different techniques and ingredients.”
Details about how to apply and the EOI form can be found at: UKSPF Expression of interest form guidance | Shropshire Council
