Business Grants

Business Grant Schemes

The Economic Regeneration Team administers some of the local business grant schemes, such as the Herefordshire Council Business Start-up Grant to assist people starting out in their own business (click on the menu item for more information on the Start-up Grant). In addition we support schemes provided by other groups.  The Programme Manager for the Redundant Building Grant Scheme is also a member of our team (see menu item).  Most of Herefordshire is also covered by the national Selective Finance for Investment in England scheme, which is administered by Advantage West Midlands - call Phil Baron on 0121 5033271. More details on the SFI and other DTI Schemes can be found using the menu item.

There are also various regional schemes in place to provide subsidised support to businesses, such as

• Bridge-it Partnership for advice on environmental issues and legislation
• Small Firms Initiative for advice on business development
• Business Start-Up Programme which is free training and advice provided by Business Link
• Skills Station to provide free advice on training
• Graduate Advantage helping match business needs with graduates in the region
• Going for Growth to provide ongoing support to businesses in the Rural Regeneration Zone
• Enterprise Experience to provide training and support to people wanting to set up new businesses

More information on these schemes can be found on the Events and Developments pages (see link below). Also look under Economic Development on the Business menu (or use the link below) for contact details for general enquiries about grants or any other business issues.

There are other grants and assistance available for businesses, but they often depend on geographic location, requirement and business sector so it is worth contacting Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and Business Link on 0845 113 1234 for specific advice on grant availability. You can also try the website West Midlands Access to Finance listed below. Some grants are specific to Market Towns, for example a new scheme to give rate relief to businesses taking premises in Ross-on-Wye should be starting shortly. For information on this see contacts under Shop Front Grants.

The Funding Directory produced by Herefordshire Council has summary information on Business Grants (see related page below).