UK Shared Prosperity Fund

The Green Business Impact Programme supports local SMEs in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and embed sustainability into business operations and integrate climate change into decision making. This includes fully funded access to sustainability experts, to create a 5-year roadmap to help businesses reduce their carbon footprint, improve energy efficiency and cut utility bills. Businesses will also have the opportunity to secure match funding capital grants of up to £5,000.

This is a jointly delivered project to support businesses to become greener within Cambridge City, South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire districts. The scheme has been delivered by the charity organisations Allia and PECT. 

The programme launched in September 2023.

BIPC Jumpstart is a support programme and grants scheme for start-up businesses. It is being delivered by the Business and IP Centre Cambridgeshire (BIPC) on our behalf.

BIPC Jumpstart includes:

• Support programme: expert workshops and one-to-ones to help you gain invaluable insights and guidance from experienced industry professionals. BIPC Jumpstart connects entrepreneurs with a network of subject matter experts who can offer personalised advice to help new businesses start their business journey
• Access to resources: these will help entrepreneurs research their market, identify opportunities and make well-informed decisions when developing business plans. We want to equip new businesses with the tools they need to thrive in today's competitive landscape
• BIPC Jumpstart Grant: Grant applications opened in September 2023, and closed on December 2023. Grants of up to £10,000 have been made available for application for eligible entrepreneurs.

The programme will run from September 2023 to March 2025.

Get Set and Grow

Get Set and Grow is a practical, result driven programme, delivered by BIPC to help East Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire based businesses grow. It provides a mix of workshops and one to ones to maximise the impact and learning lessons.

The key themes addressed in the programme will focus on:

• fundamental principles to help your business to innovate and scale
• how to refine business models
• monetising assets
• diversifying products or service offerings to reach new audiences.

The programme will run 6 times up until December 2024. By December 2024, 120 businesses will have been supported with their growth aspirations.

For more information including eligibility criteria and terms and conditions please visit the BIPC website.

UKSPF funds have been allocated to help deliver some of the community infrastructure needed to support a thriving community in the new housing development of our biggest and newest community in Northstowe.

Phased delivery of this infrastructure will ensure appropriate spaces are available as the population expands, with some of the funds going towards the temporary community building, Sports Pavilion and the permanent community building.

This project involves detailed work with communities, undertaken with support from professional landscape architects, to bring forward ambitious improvements at selected locations across South Cambridgeshire. It involves users in the design process, with a view to securing and/or improving community gardens and greenspaces.

The funding will be used to appoint a landscape architecture consultancy to assist communities in developing their own plans, and subsequently capital funding will be made available to communities, to bring in their own contractors and/or use voluntary efforts with materials purchased through a grant process to make the on-the-ground improvements, assessed against the plans developed.

This project will run from October 2023 to March 2025.

A grants scheme will be open for parish councils, community groups and local businesses to apply for to help support the improvement of the local high street. This can be funding for improvements to the vicinity of the highstreets such as repainting of rails, improvements that improve the appearance of the area such as hanging baskets, flowerbeds, planters, street cleaning, signage, or street art and sculpture.

The aim of this project is to support local small businesses who will benefit from the improved high street spaces, which will attract shoppers and communities and increase footfall and trade for those businesses. Green spaces, community centres and similar spaces located near the high street should also benefit to bring about improved community health and wellbeing, and pride in place will also be improved within the local community.

Another strand of this project will be working with Cambridgeshire Constabulary as part of our Community Safety Partnership, as an intervention to prevent the incidences of ATM robberies which are frequent in South Cambridgeshire. Funding will be used to purchase and install anti-ram raid planters, bollards or similar interventions.  Businesses that are impacted by ATM theft should see a decrease in attempts of theft and damage to their premises. This will also increase community confidence by providing a safer environment.

The scheme will be open from Autumn 2024 to Spring 2025.

We will deliver a grant scheme to support businesses with 0 to 9 employees who are based, registered and trading in South Cambridgeshire and can demonstrate:

• An innovative and ambitious business plan with evidence of the business ability to grow over the next 2 years
• Evidence of how any funding received will be used, including adopting new technologies and changing market conditions
• A number of jobs safeguarded and/or created
• Economic, environmental and social impact.

Only existing businesses can apply for the grants. Free advice and support will be available for start-ups and potential entrepreneurs.

The grant scheme is open until 31 October 2024.

This is a joint project between us and Cambridge City Council. The programme is made up of 3 strands: 

Markets Economic and Social Impact Programme will:

• measure the holistic economic, social, and cultural values of traditional retail markets across Cambridge City and our district
• allow us to better understand values, challenges and roles our communities face.

Youth Enterprise Programme will:

• support and coach young entrepreneurs across Cambridge City and our district to develop and grow a business plan with a long-term view
• provide opportunities to take their products to a traditional retail market to test their business idea.

Find out more about the Youth Enterprise Programme.

Business Growth Programme will:

• help and grow aspiring and established small and medium-sized market enterprises (SMEs) across Cambridge City and our district
• provide hands on advice and support to develop their business models.

Find out more about the Business Growth Programme.

Visitor economy destination plan, which will:

• support businesses by encouraging a stronger ‘shop local’ and ‘visit local’ ethos to consumers
• provide a strategic vision to improve the economic, social and environmental impacts of Greater Cambridge as a visitor destination.

The programmes will run from October 2023 to March 2025.