BUSINESSES in Wrexham are being encouraged to apply for a share of a new £7.6 million interim grant to replace the Shared Prosperity Fund for the next 12 months.
But the window of opportunity is small, with businesses needing to apply, receive a decision and spend any money received within 12 months.
Next week the application portal will open for the new fund, with businesses in Wrexham able to apply for grants from £50,000 to £700,000 to support growth and development.
The pot of money is designed to bridge the gap between the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) – part of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda that will end this year – and the funding model that will replace it in 2026.
The interim fund is designed to support the same sort of project areas as the SPF – Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Communities, Local Business Support and Training and Skills.
Businesses with projects that fit into these categories will be able to apply through a dedicated online portal launched next week – subject to approval by Wrexham Council’s Executive Board – for a share of the £7,608,591 fund provided by the UK Government.
The new fund is separate to the SPF scheme – any SPF funding Wrexham businesses have already received will need to be spent by the end of March or it must be repaid.
Projects that receive money from the new interim fund will need to be spend it before the new scheme comes in.
Wrexham County Borough Council’s deputy leader Cllr David Bithell, who was on the board that ruled on SPF applications, said: “The timescales are tight but we will put the time in to go through applications quickly and as soon as we can turn them around we will.”
Council leader Mark Pritchard added that the infrastructure was ready to go to ensure businesses in Wrexham can fully capitalise on the funding round.
“We have a board to determine applications set up already from the previous round so we plan to keep that the same, although we are open to new members coming forward,” he said.
Cllr Pritchard admitted Wrexham had done well out of the SPF – it was awarded £22.5m to distribute to schemes across the borough – and encouraged businesses not to miss out this time.
“We want everybody to apply. We have listened to businesses who said the floor for grant applications last time was too high. The minimum grant they could apply for under SPF was £250,000 and many businesses said that was too much money for them to spend.
“We managed to allocate all the funds regardless but I feel a lot of businesses did not bid as a result of the thresholds.
“This time we have made it more accessible to smaller businesses in Wrexham by reducing the minimum to £50,000. That’s a nice amount for a local business that might want to purchase a new piece of equipment or invest in their staff skills.”
If Wrexham Council’s Executive Board approves the application framework on Tuesday, the application portal will go live next week.
