The grant programme is now closed until May 2024.
Due to high demand, over half of the funds have been allocated in January and February 2024. We now wish to pause to give businesses an opportunity to take advantage of our one-to-one support to help refine their low carbon investment plans. Please contact the helpdesk (greenhub@cafs.org.uk) to access the support available.
Much of this demand has been for solar PV panels. In order to support as many applicants as possible with the remaining funds, when the grant programme reopens, the amount of grant available for solar panels will be capped at £5,000, with 30% match funding required.
W&F Green Enterprise Hub grant application
Grants are available to support the installation or implementation of carbon reduction practices, which include activities and/or the purchase of equipment and capital works that will support the decarbonisation of your organisation.
The scope can include the reduction in greenhouse gases from any source, including, but not limited to energy use, transport, resource consumption and the embodied carbon on goods and materials, and waste.
Grants are available up to £10,000 – grants up to £3,000 require no match (we pay the full 100% of costs), grants of between £3,000 to £10,000 are 70% funded through UK Shared Prosperity Funding with 30% match from the business.
There are 43 grants available, 13 up until 15th March 2024 and a further 30 up until 31st December 2024.
The following types of activities will be supported:
- Training and coaching (excluding that which is already subsidised through this programme)
- Accreditations
- Research and development
- Consultancy advice, audits and surveys
The following types of equipment and capital work will be supported:
- Renewable energy technology (such as solar panels, solar thermal and associated electrical battery or heat storage)
- Improvements to the thermal fabric of buildings (for example, additional insulation and window thermal upgrades such as double, triple or secondary glazing)
- Transition from fossil-fuelled to electrical heating and fixed equipment
- Energy efficiency upgrades to lighting and electrical heating and fixed equipment
- Improvements to building energy controls
- Upgrades to electrical infrastructure and metering, including electricity grid upgrade and connection fees associated with installing low carbon technology (such as EV charge points or solar PV panels)
- Equipment to support reduction in resource consumption
- Equipment to support waste reduction
Excluded:
- Internal staffing costs
- Electric vehicles charge points
- Electric vehicles
Applications are now open – download the application form and guidance notes below:
W&F Green Enterprise Hub Grant Application
W&F Green Enterprise Hub Grant Guidance
The process is really straightforward and all submitted applications should be sent to info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk
This programme of support is designed for micro, small and medium sized organisations, that are based in Westmorland and Furness, and that are either commercial or social enterprises.
In detail, this means:
1. Location: the organisation must either have their business address in Westmorland and Furness, or must be delivering a substantial service in Westmorland and Furness. To receive a capital grant, the site of the investment must be within Westmorland and Furness.
2. Size: small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are defined by the UK government in terms of number of staff, turnover and balance sheet as set out here.
3. Nature of the organisation: organisations need to be ‘enterprises’ which are ‘engaged in economic activity’, but this can be on a not-for-profit basis. To help define this, we can support businesses that:
- Provide easily identifiable and saleable goods or services to customers or clients. Saleable goods or services could include those that are provided below market rate, if the organisation is able to do so through the use of other income, donations or volunteer time.
- Have at least one member of staff earning an income from the organisation. The member of staff can be either the business owners or an employee.
- Have a bank account.
- Are formally constituted, as one of the following:
- Limited companies
- Business partnerships
- Sole traders
- Charitable companies
- Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs)
- Charitable trusts
- Co-operatives
- Community interest companies (CICs).
The exception is in relation to access onto our Purposeful Start-Up course. It is recognised that start-ups, by nature, are just setting out on a process and therefore do not have to meet this particular criterion to access that course. Is it expected however, that they will be aiming to become an enterprise of some sort in the near future.
4. Sectors: we can support private and charitable sector organisations in any industry. We cannot support public sector organisations, for example, state schools.
5. Specific exclusions do apply:
- Faith, political or campaign-based organisations are ineligible. The exception here is if the organisation includes an enterprise ‘arm’, which is accessible to customers or clients of any faith or political standpoint. In these circumstances, support can be provided in relation to that enterprise part of the organisation only.
- Housing providers. Bed and breakfasts and holiday-let businesses are eligible for support, provided that the accommodation is bookable for most of the year, i.e. operating as a business for most of the year. We acknowledge that the accommodation might also be the home of the business owner and that demand for accommodation is seasonal.
By supporting you through this programme, the Westmorland and Furness Green Enterprise Hub is offering you a Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA) subsidy under the Subsidy Control Act (2022). This applies to both non-financial assistance and grant funding.
You will be informed of the amount of MFA offered (i.e. the value of the particular element of support that you are interested in) when you request it. Before we provide that support to you, we require written confirmation that receipt of the support will not exceed your organisation’s MFA threshold. The threshold is £315,000 of MFA subsidy cumulated over this and the previous two financial years, as specified in section 36(1) of the Subsidy Control Act (2022). Confirmation must be sent by someone who is authorised to do so on behalf of your organisation.
We take this opportunity to remind you that you are required to keep a written record of the amount of MFA subsidy you have received and the date/s when it was received. The written record must be kept for at least three years beginning with the date on which the MFA subsidy was given. This will enable you to respond to future requests from public authorities on how much MFA subsidy you have received and whether you have reached the cumulative threshold.
