Grant funding and advice are now available through Cumberland Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF)

Grant funding and advice are available to SME businesses in all sectors, throughout the Cumberland Council area (i.e. the previous Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland areas), delivered by Cumbria Business Growth Hub, the Chamber’s business support arm, working in partnership with The Farmer Network.

Delivery runs until 20th February 2026. Grant spend must be completed and claimed by 31st January 2026 at the latest.

Capital grants from £10,000 to £35,000 are available for the purchase of equipment/machinery (including green/low carbon), improvements to business premises, tourism heritage assets and farm diversification. All aimed at helping the business to grow, diversify, innovate and/or improve productivity. They can cover up to 50% of the cost of your project, up to the maximum grant limit. A total pot of £360,000 is on offer.

Area restrictions apply – see grant guidance.

To apply submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk by 12noon on 15th July. The grant panel will review the EOIs and invite a selection to submit a full application.

Please note:

• Due to limited funding priority will be given to businesses who did not receive capital grant funding in 24/25
• For the same reason we are unable to offer grants for solar panels unless use of panels is a limited element fundamental to a wider business growth project
• You need to be able to demonstrate a trading history of at least 1 year to submit an EOI
• You can check project activity and eligibility before applying with your Cumbria Business Growth Hub adviser or by contacting info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk

To apply you will need to complete the below paperwork in full:

• Registration form
• Subsidy Control Declaration
• EOI
• Grant guidance

If an alternative version of paperwork is required please contact info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk 

Advice vouchers of £500 or £1,000 can be used with a consultant of your choice. No match funding is needed but you can choose to add more to enable more activity.

They can be used for a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to) marketing, website, accountancy, legal, HR, planning, agricultural consultancy, sustainability (green/low carbon), and to help towards the costs of our mentoring and export consultancy programmes.

We have 30 of each voucher amount available. There is no deadline for submission at this stage. Vouchers will be allocated on a first come first served basis, with the exception of applications from businesses which received a voucher in 24/25. These will not be considered unless funding remains after all other applications have been considered.

To apply you will need to complete the below paperwork in full:

• Registration form
• Subsidy Control Declaration
• Voucher application
• Guidance notes

If an alternative version of paperwork is required please contact info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk

Grants of up to £5,000 can be used with a consultant of your choice. No match funding is needed but you can choose to add more to enable more activity.

They can be used for a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to) marketing, website, accountancy, legal, HR, planning, sustainability (green/low carbon),  and agricultural consultancy.

A total pot of £45,000 is available. There is no deadline for submission at this stage. Revenue funding will be allocated on a first come first served basis, with the exception of applications from businesses which received a revenue grant in 24/25. These will not be considered unless funding remains after all other applications have been considered.

To apply you will need to complete the below paperwork in full:

• Registration form
• Subsidy Control Declaration
• Revenue grant application
• Guidance notes

If an alternative version of paperwork is required please contact info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk

Advice and support to businesses increasing survival rates will focus on providing one-to-one time with one of our business adviser team alongside a range of workshops/programmes covering, for example:

• Exporting – introduction to exporting, why consider exporting, making the most of opportunities and what opportunities exporting can bring to a business
• Business Essentials –understanding numbers (cash flow forecasting, budgeting, P&L, pricing and profit) and a clear strategy in terms of sales and marketing to bring cash into the business
• Business/survival planning
• Finance and funding delivered through our Access to Finance service
• Crisis cash management and credit control
• Leadership resilience and mental readiness
• Market and customer reconnection and retention
• Cost control and efficiency
• Building business resilience including pivoting/diversification
• Supply chain – new opportunities (bidding/tendering)
• Cyber

Further details for workshops/programmes will be added soon.

To request an adviser please email info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk.

While all of the above is for any business (including farms), we also have a range of workshops specifically aimed at farmers. These are on various farming related topics and are delivered by The Farmer Network.
More details and how to book coming soon.