Eden, Cumbria, The Lake District – A natural choice for business

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Rural Business Support now available to businesses in Westmorland and Furness

13 December 2023

Rural Business Support is now available through Westmorland & Furness Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) programme.

This is delivered by Cumbria Business Growth Hub, the Chamber’s business support arm, working with a number of partners, including The Farmer Network, Cumbria Tourism, Lake District National Park Authority, NFU and others.

Advice and grants are available for small and micro businesses in rural areas of Westmorland and Furness (i.e. the previous Eden and South Lakeland areas) to support:

  • Businesses to overcome challenges facing them and respond positively to opportunities

  • Farming businesses to respond to phasing out of Basic Payment Scheme and wider challenges and opportunities including diversification

For farming and other land-based businesses this includes:

  • Capital grants for purchase of equipment and small scale capital improvements to help grow, diversify, innovate and improve productivity
  • Advice vouchers of up to £500, which can be used with an adviser of your choice – no match funding is needed but you can choose to add more. 
  • Workshops to support growth and resilience and help you navigate the new subsidy regimes, delivered through The Farmer Network

For other businesses it includes:

  • Capital grants for purchase of equipment and small scale capital improvements to help grow, diversify, innovate and improve productivity
  • Adviser support through the Growth Hub’s team, including access to finance and hospitality specialists and more

Grants are available up to 40%, with more information on the grant scheme is available on the below web page. The minimum grant is £1,000, with an anticipated average of £15,000. 

For the capital grants it’s a two stage process:

  • Expressions of interest to be submitted by 12 noon on Wednesday 24th January 2024
  • Full applications to be submitted by 12 noon on Wednesday 13th March 2024

Expression of interest form is available to download on the Cumbria Business Growth Hub website.

To find out more or access this support email [email protected]

This project has received £250,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and £766,378 through the Rural England Prosperity Fund.