Business Grants & Support

If you are interested in starting a business or in business funding please contact the Chamber of Commerce. Grants may also be available at Cumbria LEP which will be advertised on their website.

In addition, the following links may also be helpful.

Open to Export

Open to Export is a community based business service aimed at small and medium sized enterprises, with the goal of enabling them to export overseas and increase international trade.  On the site you'll find extensive exporting resources covering every step of the journey, writted by UKTI and its selected partners.

Grant funding is available for businesses in South Lakeland, Eden, Carlisle and Furness to take on apprentices. Please contact Caroline Powney to find out more.

Phone: 01228 226752

e-mail: caroline.powney@cumbria.gov.uk

£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/employerownership

Cumbria County Council's Regeneration Support Team 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 Copeland Community Fund 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 Enterprise Answers 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 Foundation manages a number of funding programmes across the county on behalf of a range of donors.  Most support locally based community and voluntary groups but there are also funds to support individuals too.

The Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency (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 Enterprise 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 & Dales and Solway, Border & Eden.

 For Allerdale and Copeland, there is support for businesses through the Britain's Energy Coast, which aims to create jobs through helping new businesses, assisting existing enterprises to expand, and by encouraging inward investment.