Nelson Town Deal

Nelson Town Deal grants

Who is eligible?

The grants are for businesses in the Nelson Town Deal area. View a map of the Nelson Town Deal area to see where this grant covers. 

What are the grants for?

The grants are to help businesses become more resilient and to help them grow.

There are three priorities for the funding:

  1. Investment in new plant or machinery
  2. Energy efficiency/Carbon reduction
  3. Premises improvements or adaptations

How will the grants work?

The grant funding can be for up to 50% of eligible project costs. The business would meet the remainder of the cost. The maximum grant is £100,000. The Grants are not retrospective so any work or item that has already been ordered and/or paid for before your grant application cannot be considered for a grant.

Required Outputs

For every £10,000 of grant, the business is expected to create one new full time job.

In addition to jobs created we are looking for Safeguarded Jobs. For every £10,000 of grant the business will need to show that 2 jobs, which would have been at risk without the funding, have been safeguarded.

Projects will be monitored and non-delivery of outputs may result in clawback of all or part of the grant.

In addition to the jobs created and/or safeguarded if the business applies for a grant under priority 2 you will need to indicate the  level of energy saving that you are making – carbon reductions in metric tonnes and equivalent in cost savings to your business.

For Priority 3 you will need to indicate how you intend to improve and adapt your premises and what benefits that will bring, as well as how much in Square Metres the premises are adapted by. Internal adaptations may require Building Consent and we will need confirmation of this from the Building Control team before you proceed.

Non Grant Assistance

We considers it important to support applicants with a rounded package of support which includes business support as well as grant funding. Supported SMEs will receive one hour of Business Support assistance with a Business Adviser from BOOST Lancashire. If you are applying for a grant on the basis of Priority 2, i.e. Energy Efficiency/Carbon Reduction you will be offered an energy efficiency audit from East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce’s Low Carbon Programme.

The Application Process

If your business is interested in taking forward a grant funded project please request an Expression of Interest (EOI) Form from Mike Williams

On this form you will be asked to tell us briefly what your proposals are with an estimate of cost. Your project will then be assessed by an officer in our Economic Development Team.

If your project is deemed eligible for support you will be asked to complete a full application form. The full application will ask for more detail about the project and your business. As part of that process you will be asked to submit your most up-to-date company accounts for the previous year and any current business plan.

Three comparable quotations will be required for any eligible item of expenditure. We would not expect to grant aid to any single items which are less than £1,000. Your company may be visited as part of the application process. Please note that if you have already ordered any machinery or ordered or had any work done then you will not be able to apply for the grant retrospectively.

The Nelson Town Deal Business Grants Panel will assess your application. If your application is successful you will get a Grant Agreement to sign. Once you have paid for the items we will evidence that and pay the grant.

For any enquiries please contact the Project Lead for the programme - Mike Williams michael.williams@pendle.gov.uk or 01282 661963.