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Business Grants & Support

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£250 million available to boost business investment in skills  

A multi-million pound national pilot scheme to get more employers investing in workplace training has been launched.  Under the scheme, businesses in England will be given direct access to up to £250 million of public investment to boost Apprenticeships and other vocational training. 

For further information and a prospectus click here http://www.ukces.org.uk/employerownershipthis external link will open in a new window

Cumbria County Council's Regeneration Support Teamthis external link will open in a new window can help you find and apply for support and funding, including EU initiatives.  Their purpose is 'to maximise the benefits of economic regeneration in Cumbria by supporting partners to develop and deliver effective regeneration projects'.  In addition to this help there are several other sources of business grants & support in Cumbria, including:

The Community Regeneration Fund is aimed at social enterprises – a business with primarily social objectives whose profits are reinvested back into the business or the community.  The fund is to be a catalyst for attracting other sources from the public, private and voluntary sectors.

The Copeland Community Fundthis external link will open in a new window was an agreement negotiated with the Government to recognise the service the Borough provide to the nation by hosting the Low Level Waste Repository close to the village of Drigg.  The £1.5million that Nuclear Decommissioning Authority pay every year is to be spent on projects in Copeland for the benefit of residents and to help generate future income.

The Cumbria Asset Reinvestment Trustthis external link will open in a new window (CART) specialise in lending to people, businesses and organisations who have sound business ideas but have found it difficult to borrow elsewhere through, for example, lack of security, no business track record, an unusual idea in a sector that does not attract mainstream support, etc.  It is aimed at those who would like to start a small business or develop their business further and new or established social enterprises that have community benefit as their objective.

The Cumbria Community Foundationthis external link will open in a new window has a grants programme that has been created and funded by donations, with each donor has its own criteria and area of interest.  Most support locally based community and voluntary groups but there are also funds to support individuals too.

The Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agencythis external link will open in a new window (CREA) seeks 'to regenerate and strengthen the rural economy creating sustainable employment' by offering help with business expansion grants, marketing grants and loans for businesses within the Eden district.

For business of all sizes, Furness Enterprisethis external link will open in a new window provides a range of grants, loans and market opportunities.  They also act as a broker to funding through Barrow Borough Council, GlaxoSmithKline, and the Nuclear Decomissioning Authority.

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is aimed at stimulating rural development through a variety of activities, including vocational training and skills development, farming diversification, cooperation initiatives, small scale renewable energy production, support for micro enterprises, basic rural services, and tourism initiatives.  The programme is delivered in Cumbria by two organisations: Fells & Dalesthis external link will open in a new window and Solway, Border & Edenthis external link will open in a new window.