Supporting you and your business during the recession
Council support for Cheltenham businesses
Cheltenham Borough Council recognises that local businesses may be struggling with issues affected by the recession.
In response, we have provided an extended range of services and business support for Cheltenham businesses. These include:
Training - Specialist support, such as training courses for 150 small businesses (£8,500 per year)
Business Pride grants - for small business-led initiatives which many business owners may not be able to pay for themselves- i.e. help with commercial rent for business start-ups and training grants
Business networks - Getting businesses to work together to address their issues - for example, facilitating the setting up of traders associations, setting up two new business centres on industrial estates for businesses to meet, setting up Business Pride.
Event - Business conferences on topical issues - the Cheltenham Business Pride Credit Crunch Conference and networking event was held on 26 November 2008 . A further follow-up post-recession event will be taking place on 20 July 2010 with the FSB as our corporate partners.
Events - Providing grants to support three events per year which bring more businesses to Cheltenham (£18,000 over three years)
Cutting costs - Supporting 20 small businesses on industrial estates to achieve ISO14001 environmental support (£20,000 over three years).
Cutting costs - Energy management project for small hospitality businesses (£45,000). Spring - Winter 2009.
Volunteering - Financial support to encourage businesses to offer their staff to mentor start-up businesses/community groups to help them develop and grow in Cheltenham (£14,500 over two years) Started January 2009. A launch event will be held.
Unemployed - Help for people on incapacity benefits to get back to work, a project working with Gloucestershire County Council and Job Centre Plus to provide additional interview skills training (£40,000 over two years). Started January 2009.
Hesters Way OutReach Programme - working in conjunction with Working Links, we will be visiting Hester's Way ward to understand and provide assistance to those who need help with vital skills in order to get them into sustained employment.
Start ups - Financial support to help install and start-up 'Accelerator' unit for creative industries in Gloucestershire Media Group's film studio. Providing 5 desks free of charge for the first month and other marketing support (£4,000). Launched November 2009, until February 2010.
Training - In partnership with Business Link, provide small match-funded grants for businesses with up to 10 employees (£15,000 grant fund). CLOSED 31 MARCH 2010
View Business Link's no-nonsense guide to small business funding.
Pages in Supporting you and your business during the recession
- 1. You are here Council support for Cheltenham businesses
- 2. Advice and access to finance, grants and tax relief
- 3. Other help available from Gloucestershire County Council
- 4. Redundancy Support Programme