Powys projects get £1.85m to help businesses expand

Seven Powys projects have received Shared Prosperity Fund support worth a total of £1.85 million in the last eight months to help boost business investment and create jobs.

The awards have been made by the Powys Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) Local Partnership Board, supported by Powys County Council’s Economy and Climate Service, under its Supporting Local Business theme.

The successful projects are:

• Powys Business Growth Grants, a further £716,724, to Powys County Council’s Economy and Climate Service, to run a scheme to help business in Powys fund work that will either create or safeguard jobs.
• Hay Festival, £250,000, to Hay Festival Foundation, to help support the Winter Weekend in the short-term and for a feasibility study to look at the best way of securing its long-term future.
• BEACON Mid-Wales, £249,999, to Aberystwyth University, for a project providing support and open-access to AgriTech/biorefining scale-up facilities, training and expertise.
• NutriReValorise, £248,868, to University of South Wales, to help key rural industrial sectors, including agriculture, switch to more productive ways of dealing with nutrient rich waste.
• Preparing to Grow, £195,595, to University of Wales Trinity Saint David, to provide bespoke support to the leaders and senior staff at 70 Powys businesses looking to increase in size from small to medium-sized companies.
• Growing Mid Wales Careers, £144,310, to NPTC Group of Colleges, for a work experience app that can be used by schools, colleges and employers in Powys, to help them connect and arrange placements for students.
• Mid Wales Business Energy Efficiency Boost, a further £43,014, to Severn Wye Energy Agency, to help small and medium-sized businesses reduce their energy bills and CO₂ emissions.

“Our objectives under the Supporting Local Business theme are to create jobs and boost community cohesion, promote networking and collaboration, and increase private sector investment in growth-enhancing activities,” said Councillor David Selby, the council’s Cabinet Member for a More Prosperous Powys and Chair of the Powys SPF Local Partnership Board.