New funding available for Dartmouth businesses

I have been asked to circulate the details of a new funding opportunity for Dartmouth businesses who have fought to survive the Covid lockdown. I am including below the details of a Town Funding Prospectus recently presented to the Dartmouth Town Councillors in a video conference. There is a PP presentation below which explains the scheme and describes who may qualify for the funding. The presentation was given by : Chris Brook   l Director – Place and Enterprise l South Hams District Council Who wrote the following invitation to Councillors. It was also intended to invite Chambers of Trade or any other business support groups but Dartmouth no longer has a Chamber so I am circulating the information through the Business News to make sure you receive it.

If you think your business may qualify for this grant then please start thinking about the content of your BID for funds. The scheme will be administered by Dartmouth Town Council who will be presenting more details of the scheme when they have decided how to deliver it.

Subject: Town Fund Prospectus

Dear Mayors and Clerks

I am pleased to share with you the prospectus for the Improving the Business Environment Fund – A Town Centre Approach. This is a great opportunity for you to help shape the economic recovery of your Towns, working with businesses to provide immediate and much needed support.  Some key points to note:

  • Open book accounting and audit on all spend is an essential requirement of the bid (so we can report onwards to BEIS (Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), the Government department responsible for the Business Grants)
  • It’s a match funded scheme
  • Business engagement and support is crucial via Chambers of commerce, business forums and direct
  • Support of your local district Cllr should be evidenced

Whilst the constraints on the funding are essential to ensure that bids come forward in a way that aligns to the rules set out in the prospectus, we hope that you will be able to support your local area with innovative and effective measures and we look forward to discussing these with you.  I am proposing to host two short video conferences on the prospectus to help with any questions you may have.  They will be on Thursday 13th at 4pm and Friday 14th at 3pm, invitations will follow.

Kind regards

Chris Brook   l Director – Place and Enterprise l

South Hams District Council l West Devon Borough Council

Cllr Cathy Campos asked if this funding could be applied for retrospectively and received this reply:

Hi Cathy,

Presentation attached.  The way to think about this isn’t so much if it is retrospective or not, but simply to say: Show us evidence that you have had to adapt your businesses to embrace outside dining (or whatever it is you are interested in) and what costs you have incurred or will incur.  As part of that you can ask for evidence that their business has suffered an impact more generally and then you can issue grants to the businesses to reflect that.  How they actually spend the money is not a concern, it’s simply to ensure that there is a sound rationale and evidence base around who you have paid and why. 

Hope that helps?

Chris

Chris Brook   l Director – Place and Enterprise l

South Hams District Council l West Devon Borough Council

Now follows the PP presentation given by Chris Brook:

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