All Saints, Blakenhall & Parkfield Business Community
December 2008: This grant is currently unavailable pending a review of the scheme. We hope to have more information in early 2009.
The All Saints & Blakenhall Community Development Business Improvement Scheme aims to support the economic regeneration of the ABCD area of Wolverhampton by providing funding to assist in developing and starting local businesses, particularly where this will stimulate local employment creation. The Scheme is administered by All Saints & Blakenhall Community Development, with funding provided from its' capital budget.
Who is eligible?Businesses must normally be operating from commercial, and not domestic, premises, and have completed all necessary registrations, including with the local H.M. Revenue and Customs, and, if appropriate, Companies House. Similarly, leases on commercial premises will also have been signed in start-up situations.
What is an SME business?
1) Under 250 employees.
2) Annual Turnover < €40m, or Balance Sheet total < €27m.
3) Independently owned.
What expenditure is eligible?
All capital expenditure made exclusively for the business, e.g. production equipment; commercial vehicles; premises improvements (subject to certain constraints e.g. where part of a wider business project), and IT installation (where part of a wider business project). This does not include normal trading expenses.
There are other exclusions:
1) Vehicles with significant potential domestic use. e.g. saloon cars
2) Purchase of Freehold or Long Lease on commercial premises.
3) Training unless related to eligible expenditure e.g. use of new equipment.
4) Security improvements. (Wolverhampton City Council operates a separate ABCD Security Grant. Tel: 01902 554955))
5) ABCD reserve the right to request full details of proposed expenditure as there may be, from time to time, areas of business type or expenditure where support is unlikely to be made available because of prioritisation.
What level of Grant is available?Grants are available as a contribution towards the business costs of new projects, up to a maximum of 50% of eligible expenditure, excluding VAT. The minimum Grant is £500, and the maximum is £6,000. VAT cannot be reclaimed in addition. The levels of maximum Grant are:
Start-Up | £1,500 |
Small businesses < 10 F/T staff | £2,500 |
Larger businesses ≥ 10 F/T staff | £6,000 |
Funds cannot be awarded towards contingency sums or cost over-runs. Grant funding through this Scheme will be termed ‘de minimis' under European Community State Aid:
‘De minimis'
Under EC Regulation 69/2001 (‘de minimis' aid regulation) there is a ceiling of Euros 200,000 for all de minimis or other state aid provided to any one firm over a rolling three year period. Any state de minimis aid awarded to you under this Scheme, or in the three years prior to application, will be relevant to you if you wish to apply, or have applied, for this or any other state de minimis aid. For the purposes of compliance with the de minimis regulation you must retain the approval letter issued to successful applicants under this Scheme for three years and produce it (along with similar documentation confirming other state aid awards) in support of any further application for aid over the next three years or on request by the UK public authorities or the European Commission.
Please note that "aid," as defined under the de minimis rules, not only consists of financial assistance but is also deemed to include Training or Consultancy or Advice that may have been provided free of charge i.e. the cost you would have paid counts as the "value" of the aid. Applicants for this scheme should therefore endeavour to obtain "valuation" documentation from the provider of any aid provided free or at reduced cost. The maximum financial award under this scheme is £6,000 therefore there are no issues or problems for any applicant who has received de minimis or other state aid (including "free" training, consultancy or advice) with a total value of less than euros 200k over the three year period preceding this application.
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