Land based businesses in the old Eden District Council and South Lakeland District Council areas can access up to £500 to help towards the cost of working with a consultant of their choice, thanks to funding through Westmorland & Furness Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
There are just 225 advice vouchers remaining available, to be spent by the end of December this year.
Advice vouchers can be used for a whole range of consultancy support, for example:
- Accountancy – operating more cost effectively and/or adapting to the changes in agricultural funding
- Legal – Farm & property sales & purchase, partnership matters & disputes, Landlord & tenant law, Basic Payment Scheme & other grant schemes, agricultural wills & succession planning
- Insurance – reviews, risk assessments, valuations
- Planning – planning advice, preparing planning applications and helping farming businesses use Agricultural Permitted Development Rights to support farm growth and diversification
- Architectural planning and design service
- Marketing – plans, campaigns, website development, PR
- Agricultural consultancy – specialised advice, support and guidance
No match funding is needed but businesses can choose to add more. We can however only fund work that has yet to start. It’s a really simple application process with only one quote needed (two if applying for over £2,000) and the voucher is paid directly to the business.
Head of Business Support, Lesley Robinson says “This is a great opportunity to support land based businesses allowing them to access the help and support they need. We know from past experience how valuable any sort of funding can be and we’re really pleased to be able to offer 250 vouchers in total. We’re encouraging businesses to apply directly and would also ask any consultants to spread the word amongst their existing clients and use the voucher as a way of attracting new ones!”
Anyone interested in applying should call 0844 2478450 or email info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk