An A-Z of current funding opportunities.
Certain commercial historic buildings in High Peak may be eligible for restoration and improvement grants. For further information,
Derbyshire Safeguard provides businesses within the County the ability to register their main key holders, access tailored business crime prevention advice and services in addition to information about local and national grant opportunities.
For more information,
Applied Research Grant funding is available from the Carbon Trust (external website**) to businesses, research institutions and other organisations and aims to support the development and commercialisation of technologies which have the potential to reduce UK carbon emissions. As such the programme is endeavouring to encourage and support the progress of low carbon technologies towards large-scale deployment. Grant funding is offered up to £500,000 for applied research leading to low carbon products or services. The next call for proposals is in February and June 2010.
On-line applications for a grant of up to £500,000 towards the cost of your project. A minimum 40% match funding is required, subject to state aid legislation. To be successful your project must demonstrate:
General enquiries - Tel: 0800 085 2005 or customercentre@carbontrust.co.uk
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (External website**) provides information on a range of rural support and funding initiatives for farmers, rural organisations and businesses, voluntary organisations, nature conservation organisations, and forestry. For further information,
EMDA is the main provider of grant funds for businesses located in, or looking to locate, in the High Peak. EMDA offers a variety of business finance initiatives, including grants, equity funds and business load funds.
EMDA administers the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform‘s Grant for Business Investment (GBI) (external website**) - formerly known as Selective Finance for Investment in England or SFIE grants. These aim to encourage businesses to invest in land and buildings, plant and machinery to support expansion and modernisation. Within the High Peak, assistance is available for small and medium sized enterprises (maximum 249 employees). Grants are available between £10,00 and £140,00 at an intervention rate of 10% to 20%. However, higher awards may be considered for projects of exceptional quality.
Grants for Research and Development (GRD) are available, providing grants of up to £200,000 to help businesses carry out research and development work that will lead to technologically innovative products or processes.
EMDA announces new support for aspiring high growth businesses - EMDA is looking for 50 businesses from across the East Midlands to take part in a new support programme, called Coaching for High Growth. Part of Government’s Solutions for Business portfolio, Coaching for High Growth provides businesses with an intensive and bespoke package to help them unlock their growth potential. The support is provided by an expert coach over a 12 month period and is a proven formula to get results. To access further information on Coaching for High Growth call 0845 644 6963 or visit the EMDA website (external website**).
Sustainable Construction iNet (external website**) - The iNet offers financial support through two schemes; the Innovation Support Grants offering up to £10,000 and the Higher Education Collaboration Grant, offering up to £50,000. To qualify for an Innovation Support Grant (ISG) the application must be operating commercially in construction or an associated industry sector such as mining, quarrying, waste management, energy or water. They must also require technical or consultancy assistance for their idea, product or process and expect to protect or create jobs in the East Midlands as a result. The Higher Education Collaboration Fund (HECF) provides grants for companies to access the support and expertise of the region’s universities. For more information contact Barrie Billinghay, Innovation Adviser (Derbyshire) tel: 07595 092 023 or email: Barrie.Billinghay@construction-inet.org.uk
Pathfinder Grants are available to companies to undertake market feasibility studies in a range of technology areas. Grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 are designed to enable businesses to investigate the market potential of ideas they may have, to exploit a range of technologies. Money can be used to gather evidence of market validation, establish the commercial opportunity and demonstrate the regional benefit of supporting the proposed technology. For more details about Pathfinder Grants and to download application forms, visit www.eminnovation.org.uk (external website**), or telephone Dr Lisa Thomas, Innovation Strategy Manager at EMDA, on 0115 947 1736.
The full range of business finance initiatives, available through EMDA, can be found at www.emda.org.uk/funding/ (external website**).
Food and Drink Innovation Support Grant - This is open to small and medium-sized enterprises, with fewer than 250 employees. Up to £10,000 is available (with 50% match funding required, although this can include staff time) to help pay
For more information, contact the Food and Drink iNet on 0845 521 2066, or visit www.foodanddrink-inet.org.uk. (external website**)
For more information on grants available to businesses from Derbyshire Economic Partnership, contact the Business and Skills Programme Manager at enquiries@ddep.co.uk or telephone 01773 514976.
Transport iNet (external website**) for aerospace, rail, marine, automotive and motorsport sectors - £2.5million worth of funding and consultancy to help small and medium sized businesses to innovate. Finance for research and development collaborations with universities, innovation support grants for specialist consultancy, as well as events and training. SME’s will be able to overcome barriers that come with developing novel products or services, with the assistance of the Innovation Support Grant. With up to £10,000 on offer, businesses can use this to source external expertise which will help deliver their innovative transport related projects.
For more information contact Carol Wright on 01509 635270.
Composite Materials Grants - New initiatives to support the development of composite materials have been announced recently including £5 million for businesses to develop new composites manufacturing techniques, (to be won via the Technology Strategy Board's new 'Grand Challenge' competition), and £1m upfront funding to help develop bids for this. For further information see the EMDA website (external website**), contact EMDA on 0115 988 8300.
The East Midlands New Technology Initiative (external website**) provides match funded grants of up to £10,000 to small and medium sized businesses to invest in state of the art technology and gain advanced technology skills through NTI approved courses. As part of the funding package, businesses commit to enrolling members of staff on NTI approved courses at local universities and colleges. Support available for businesses in the Creative Industries, High Performance Engineering, Food and Drink and Construction.
This aims to help smaller, credit-worthy companies which might otherwise fail to access the finance they need for working capital or investment finance, due to the current tight lending conditions. The Government will provide £1-billion of guarantees to support £1.3-billion of bank bending to smaller firms. The guarantee, available through High Street banks, will apply to loads and can also be used to convert existing overdrafts into loans to enable businesses to free up their current overdraft facilities to meet working capital demands. Business Link advisers can give further details and assist with business planning.
A number of key public sector services for older people and disabled individuals will, in future, be able to be delivered by voluntary or private sector organisations rather than be delivered directly by Derbyshire County Council. As the number of older people in the population increases, so will the need for more extensive range of services and providers.
In preparation for this, Derbyshire County Council and Age Concern Derby & Derbyshire have a joint project to help people wanting to set up organisations or a 'new arm of a charity, group or business' that could deliver services. These 'social enterprises' could be led by voluntary organisations looking to work under contract and thus be more sustainable in the future, or could be for existing businesses that are already, in essence, servicing the needs of older people and feel that they could operate a salaried service and to deliver them. Examples of areas of work could be providing daycare for older people, providing household maintainance services, enabling people to live in their own home, even community laundry/garden maintenance etc. There is funding available to help people set up the right structures and help them gain get to a position where they can apply to deliver services.
For more information contact Sue Sheldon, Social Enterprise Development Worker, on 07779 680551 or email: socialenterprise@ageconcernderbyshire.org.uk.
Business Link Advisors can also help businesses looking to establish themselves as social enterprises.
A new graduate employment programme (external website**) has been launched to give employers access to grant funded graduates recruitment for both permanent positions and placements.
Businesses will receive £1000 towards standard recruitment fees and the scheme provides support in terms of recruitment, placements and how to manage process. For further information contact Hotspots on 0845 450 5460.
There is still room for additional companies to apply to the Growth Readiness Programme (external website**), that makes up part of HighGrowth East Midlands, the flagship business support scheme of EMDA.
Designed for companies that are poised to take off, it focuses on developing a strategic vision and plan. The core programme offers an initial diagnosis of a company's development potential, a one-day coaching module for chief executives and five days of individual coaching. For further information:
J4b Information (external website**) provides businesses with a signposting service to help them find out about grants, financial assistance, subsides and in-kind help. The J4b website is updated continuously, free to use and provides an excellent starting place for finding out about the financial assistance available.
The Peak District Leader Programme "Raising the Game - Enhancing rural productivity and improving quality of life in the Peak District through Sustainable Micro-Enterprise Development", brings a range of grants to new and existing micro businesses (under 10 employees) across the High Peak, excluding the central wards of Glossop (Hadfield) and Buxton.
Grants from £3,500 upwards are available, and to be eligible you must fit one of the criteria:
You can view some of the projects LEADER has already funded on the Derbyshire Economic Partnership website. (external website**)
Application forms and further details are available from the Derbyshire Economic Partnership (external website**) or alternatively, please phone Amanda Brown at Derbyshire Economic Partnership (Rural Action Zone) on 01629 538475 or email amanda.brown@derbyshireeconomicpartnership.org.uk.
Grants of between £250 and £1,000 are available to businesses with between 2 and 4,999 employees, and are available at a 50% rate for leadership and management training. Up to 12 individuals per business are eligible. For further information, or to make an appointment to discuss your needs, please
Details of the funding available, and how to apply, can be found in the following leaflet:
; orLive & Work Rural (external website**) - Open to anyone in High Peak including those in Buxton and Glossop. This project supports people to develop ideas for business and includes small grants.
Tel: 01629 816338; e-mail: liveandworkrural@peakdistrict.gov.uk
Business mentoring advice is available through the Mentoring For All initiative (external website**). This offers established businesses with a programme of 10 sessions with a business mentor, who is matched according to your needs. The mentor can by used to discuss any issue relating to the management or operation of your business. For further information telephone 0115 970 5550
Natwest and RBS have launched a £250 million regional fund to support small and medium enterprises (SME) in East Midlands in 2009.
This further commitment to the SME sector in the East Midlands will be delivered through a comprehensive package of funding choices, effective from 5th February 2009. In addition to providing traditional debt finance, the new funds will offer businesses the opportunity to access other avenues available to help them manage their capital and cashflow through the current economic downturn.
Accessed via customers’ existing dedicated Business Relationship Managers, the fund will also offer SME customers lower priced loans from the £250m funding that the Bank has recently secured from the European Investment Bank.
The aim of this guide (external website**) is to help potential applicants for EU funding for research and innovation to find their way to relevant information on funding opportunities in order to identify the most suitable choices among the relevant EU programmes.
The Prince's Trust (external website**) offers mentoring support and business loans to young people aged 18 to 30, who are unemployed or under-employed or working on a part time basis, and who wish to start a new business. The Trust provides help with completing a business plan, as well as offering ongoing advice from a volunteer business mentor. Low interest loans of up to £2000 can be obtained in some instances. For further information, telephone 0800 842 842.
Research and development (R&D) tax credits are a company tax relief, which can either reduce a company’s tax bill, or, for some small or medium sized companies, provide a cash sum. Relief is available for small and medium sized enterprises (defined as under 500 employees in this instance) and large enterprises. Further information can be obtained from the HM Revenue and Customs website (External website**).
The European Union and Defra have devolved £58m to EMDA to deliver the socio-economic elements of the Rural Development Programme for England. Eligible activities include:
Email the DEPE team or call them on 0115 988 8300, or visit Rural Development Programme for England 2007–2013 – Guide to funding in the East Midlands (external website**).
The Shell Springboard Awards (external website**) programme is an annual programme that provides a financial boost to innovative, low carbon business ideas from across the UK. £40,000 is awarded every year, no strings attached, to eight businesses with an innovative product or service that will lead to greenhouse gas emission reductions and is commercially viable.
Wheels to Work Derbyshire (external website**). A scheme that provides short term solutions for people experiencing difficulties accessing work or training due to lack of suitable public transport. This usually consists of very low cost Scooter or push bike loan for 6 months. The scheme is currently not open for anyone in the High Peak area, but it is hoped that by Autumn 2010, funding for a revised programme will be in operation, so if please contact organisation to discuss your needs. For further information, phone 01629 821923, email s.abberley@derbysrcc.org.uk or by post to:
Wheels to Work Derbyshire
DRCC
Church Street
Wirksworth
Derbyshire DE4 4EY
This £10-billion Working capital scheme secures short term bank lending to companies with a turnover of up to £500m. The Government will provide banks with guarantees up to 50% of the risk. Speak to Business Link for further information.
**Please note: High Peak Borough Council is not responsible for the content of any external websites.