A Bridgend Council scrutiny committee will be updated this afternoon on projects under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (pdf).
The Shared Prosperity Fund was established by the previous Conservative UK Government to replace EU regional economic development funding lost because of Brexit.
Bridgend Council has received £18.3million in revenue and capital funding for 2024-25 under the fund.
The report says that the funding’s business, community, property improvement, and tourism elements have created 135 jobs and safeguarded 468 more.
As for the progress on specific elements of the fund:
- Business Development Grant – Grants of between £5,000-25,000 to local small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to cover up to 50% of the cost of capital investments. 47 grants have so far been distributed, with a total value of just under £811,000.
- Business Feasibility Grant – Grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 to support plans for business growth or decarbonisation. 9 grants worth just under £177,000 have been distributed. One of note is a proposal by Brewery Field Ltd/Bridgend Ravens to develop a hotel next to the Brewery Field; coincidentally, BCBC is actively considering “disposal” of the Ravenscourt offices.
- Tourism Events Grant – Grants of between £2,500 and £10,000 to support various events. 10 events were supported including the Between the Trees festival, Porthcawl 10k and Christmas events held by town & community councils.
- Community Feasibility Fund – Covers the cost of studies on the feasibility of long-term community-based projects. 23 projects have received funding totalling £427,000.
- Placemaking Property Improvement Grant – The aim is to improve the appearance of commercial buildings, bring empty commercial properties back into use and/or convert vacant upper-floor commercial space into housing. Grants are worth up to £50,000. 8 projects have received funding totalling £208,000.
Additionally, there’s the Bridgend County Prosperity Framework. This funds miscellaneous projects with external partners.
8 projects have received a combined £1.46million, with a further 3 projects in the pipeline.
An additional £1.54million has been used to free up money BCBC would otherwise have had to spend themselves, with this expected to increase to just over £1.8million.
The UK Government announced a 40% cut to the Shared Prosperity Fund as part of the recent budget. The report says that discontinuing some of the projects is an option if this cut in funding is applied as anticipated.
This doesn’t impact projects like the renovation of Porthcawl Grand Pavilion, which is funded through a separate programme (Levelling-Up Fund).
