Durham Business Growth Grant application form

Overview:

If you are a small or medium sized business based in an eligible postcode with plans to grow and potentially employ more staff, you may be eligible to access grant funding through the Durham Business Growth Grant.

You could access up to 35% grant funding for business improvement projects. The minimum grant we can pay is £1,000, so you must be planning to spend a minimum of £2,858 excluding VAT on eligible costs. The maximum grant we can offer you is £2,000.

The Durham Business Growth Grant is funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), as part of Durham County Council's Community Led Local Development (CLLD) programme. We can support you in many ways to help you grow your business and improve your productivity and our grants may be used for any of the following (the list is not exhaustive):

Purchase of tools or machinery
Purchase of computer equipment
Premises improvement or expansion
Consultancy for business growth planning
Consultancy for business strategy development
Consultancy for HR strategy and staff development
Consultancy for marketing planning & activities
Website design & development
Product or process development & business diversification
Financial planning
Consultancy for the development of new or improved systems and procedures

Business Support (Covid-19):

Given the current circumstances, caused by Covid-19, our grants may also support businesses:

to invest in professional services, building alterations or equipment which will provide essential support and identify opportunities to increase business resilience through new ways of working e.g. the introduction of remote working for staff thereby keeping them in employment.
that wish to switch production or redirect resource to support national need through assistance towards the cost of specialist advice and equipment/retooling e.g. to manufacture PPE for the NHS.
to engage with wider business investment activity leading to new job creation linked to recruitment support through Durham Works focused on matching vacancies to unemployed and underemployed residents.

Eligibility Criteria:

The Durham Business Growth Grant provides grants towards business improvement projects to SMEs located within the County Durham CLLD areas.

To be eligible for a grant, the project for which you are applying must not have started and you must be:

A UK business that is currently trading
A small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) with less than 250 employees, annual turnover less than €50m and annual balance sheet less than €43m.
Located in one of the following eligible CLLD areas:

The North Durham CLLD area covers Chester-le-Street, Pelton Fell, Whitehills and Pelton, Sacriston, South Stanley, Craghead around the outskirts of Annfield Plain and Harelaw.

The South Durham CLLD programme is delivered in the Bishop Auckland, Coundon, Leeholme, Shildon, Spennymoor, St Helen Auckland and West Auckland areas.

State aid regulations:

Our grants are State aid and are given as De Minimis aid.

You may not receive more than €200,000 De Minimis aid in any three-year period (the limit is reduced to €100,000 for road freight haulage businesses).

Privacy Notice

This notice was last updated on 5 January 2021. Any changes will be posted here. If those changes are significant, we will contact you so that you can review them.

The North and South Durham Business Growth Grant is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), for which the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) or other successor body, is the Managing Authority in England. The Managing Authority is Data Controller, as defined in data protection law, of the information you provide with your grant application.

Durham County Council is the Accountable Body for the North and South Durham CLLD programmes ("CLLD") and has allocated CLLD funding to UMi Commercial Limited ("UMi") to deliver the Business Growth Grant programme. UMi is Data Processor, as defined in data protection law, of the information you provide with your grant application.

You can read the Managing Authority's full Privacy Notice by visiting the following website: Click Here

The information you provide to UMi will be shared with Durham County Council and the Managing Authority to ensure the programme complies with European Regulations. Durham County Council or the Managing Authority will need to share all or some of your personal data with the national evaluator of the programme. In some cases, the National Evaluator, i.e. an independent external contractor commissioned by Managing Authority, may use the contact details to contact a sample of direct or indirect beneficiaries for the purpose of the National Evaluation of the programme. It is likely that the survey methodology will need to incorporate a variety of approaches in order to maximise the survey response rate (for example, telephone survey, written survey, and e-mail survey) – hence the need for a variety of contact details required for each participant. This will be in line with European Commission regulatory requirements.

Your information will also be shared with research organisations working on behalf of the Managing Authority who may contact participants to discuss their involvement in the project for research purposes. Participation in research is voluntary and participants will be asked to consent before taking part in any research activity they may be contacted about. Data will not be used or shared for any commercial or marketing purposes.

How we will use your information

In addition to the above, we will use the information that you have provided for the following legitimate purposes:

to administer your application;
to manage our relationship with you and for customer satisfaction, monitoring and evaluation;
to assist with record keeping, statistical and research purposes, and statutory purposes; and
to meet our respective legal obligations.

Personal data relating to directors and persons with significant control will be requested as part of the application administration process.

If you do not provide us with the information requested, we will be unable to progress your grant application. Information provided may also be shared with our public sector partners for the purposes set out above.

Lawful Grounds

Legitimate interest

Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests and to enable us to meet the purposes set out above.

Legal obligation

Where we need to process personal information to comply with a legal obligation placed on us.

Performance of task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of our official authority

Where we process your personal information to meet a task that is in the public interest.

In order to progress through the application, we require you to consent to the below statement

Storage of information

All storage of your personal data complies with European data protection law and your information is protected.

Electronic data will be securely transferred to, and stored within, the UK, the EEA or with a compliant Non-EEA based supplier. In circumstances where we transfer data to countries outside the EEA we ensure the supplier complies with data protection law and that your information is protected

Durham County Council will store your information securely in line with the North and South Durham CLLD Programmes retention date of 31 December 2033.

UMi will store your information securely following payment of the grant, to meet any legal obligations it has.

Your rights

You can exercise your rights under data protection law by contacting the Managing Authority. Details on how to do this can be found at our privacy notice: Click Here

Click Yes to confirm that you have read the Privacy Notice Yes

Would you like to receive useful business updates, newsletters and other relevant information about UMi business support, events or grant services by email, post, social media or phone?

Click Yes to grant consent Yes

Please answer the following questions to check your eligibility for the Durham Business Growth Grant

Are you a sole trader or a partnership? Yes No

UTR Number *

Business Name *

Company Register No *

Company Name *

Type Of Ownership

Trading Address Postcode *

The provided postcode is Trading address Registered address

Email Address *

Number of Staff *

De minimis aid received in last 3 years *

State Aid refers to forms of assistance given to provide an activity or service, which may distort competition in the European Union market by favouring one provider over another. It includes public funding or other subsidies which have been distributed on behalf of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, funding via National Government schemes, Local Authorities grants or other public funding support. Please provide us with confirmation of any State Aid given under de minimis State Aid that you have received – your funder should have told you whether this was the case.

For further information please navigate to https://ec.europa.eu/budget/graphs/inforeuro.html

Application Form

Please answer the following questions and submit your application. A member of our team will assess your eligibility and will contact you within 2 days.

Title

Please enter title

First Name *

Last Name *

Phone Number

Sector *

Where did you hear about us?

Please enter where did you hear about us

Yes No

Contract

The Durham Business Growth Grant is funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).

Overview:

Business Support (Covid-19):

Eligibility Criteria:

State aid regulations:

Privacy Notice

How we will use your information

Lawful Grounds

In order to progress through the application, we require you to consent to the below statement

Check Eligibility

Unfortunately, you are not eligible because:

Although your business is not eligible for Durham Business Growth Grant, you may be able to access other business support.
Visit https://www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline

Check Eligibility

Please answer the following questions to check your eligibility for the Durham Business Growth Grant

Application Form

Please answer the following questions and submit your application. A member of our team will assess your eligibility and will contact you within 2 days.

Overview:

Business Support (Covid-19):

Eligibility Criteria:

State aid regulations:

Privacy Notice

How we will use your information

Lawful Grounds

In order to progress through the application, we require you to consent to the below statement

Check Eligibility

Unfortunately, you are not eligible because:

Although your business is not eligible for Durham Business Growth Grant, you may be able to access other business support. Visit https://www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline

Check Eligibility

Please answer the following questions to check your eligibility for the Durham Business Growth Grant

Application Form

Please answer the following questions and submit your application. A member of our team will assess your eligibility and will contact you within 2 days.

Although your business is not eligible for Durham Business Growth Grant, you may be able to access other business support.
Visit https://www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline