Additional Round of Green Bridge Grant Funding Available

An additional round for Green Bridge Supply Chain Programme is now open for SME to apply for. Please note that Applications submitted after 7th March 2014 will not be considered.

Does your Stoke-on-Trent or Staffordshire based business want grant support of £10k – £1m?

“Existing SMEs are invited to apply for funding to develop, grow and diversify their businesses within the green sector across the West Midlands. The grants are available to develop new markets, new products, skills development and purchase of capital equipment.”

Find out more here on the GreenBridge website.

If you are interested in a 1-2-1 session with a representative from the Green Bridge team organised by Staffordshire Business and Environment Network (SBEN) or you wish to talk confidentially, please contact James Ahearn (01785 276 528).

These sessions have helped 61 local businesses since June 2013.

Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership is also willing to find further support for businesses wanting help to review draft applications.

Successes from smaller and larger SMEs in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are listed below.

Safelec Environmental Services Ltd

Safelec Environmental Services wanted to expand into much larger premises to develop their recycling facility for electoral and plastic wastes. They have been allocated £28,000 of grant funding from Round 2 of the programme with a total Safelec investment of £105,000. Using the funds, the company plans to invest in training and new machinery to ensure they have the skills and equipment necessary to develop into a new market.

A representative from Staffordshire County Council was able to help the SME redraft their application and to make sense of what was required from them in terms of the financial breakdown of their project and key milestones.

Barrington Engineering Ltd

Barrington Engineering secured £90,000 to cover 45% of the costs of a £200,000 project to develop a new product in Round 1 of the programme. The company offers bespoke engineering solutions to a range of problems but saw an opportunity to diversify into anaerobic digestion (AD) equipment for the biogas industry. They plan to develop AD Pre-treatment equipment and micro AD plant equipment.

The business made use of a 1-2-1 session with a GreenBridge representative organised by SBEN.

This programme is delivered in partnership by Birmingham City Council with 6 Local Enterprise Partnerships across the West Midlands region and the Department for Business Innovation & Skills using the Regional Growth Fund.