Council delivered over £164m of grant funding to Shropshire businesses during pandemic

A report going to Shropshire Council’s Cabinet on Wednesday shows the council delivered £164,122,313 of COVID-19 grant funding to businesses across Shropshire between April 2020 and March 2022.

22 different business grant programmes were set up to help local businesses survive and respond to the pandemic, with over 32,000 individual grant payments made during the period.

Funding pots were also made available to deliver a range of business support activity. One successful project that the funding helped was Silverpreneurs©, a scheme founded by Chris Gough and Vernon Hogg to inspire and empower the over 50s who wanted to start up their own business.

The programme received £71,000 of funding to launch a programme for Shropshire-based over 50s looking to collaborate, upskill and transform their business idea to a business reality.

The programme welcomed 42 clients, who could access 12 hours of funded business support and opened up a network of ‘silver experts’ from across various industries and sectors.

Another successful story from the funding was The Queen’s Baton Relay, a celebration event part of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, hosted from The Quarry, Shrewsbury in July 2022.

Shropshire Festivals secured £100,000 grant funding to deliver the event alongside partners, to put Shrewsbury and Shropshire on the map as part of the Games.

The unique opportunity helped to promote Shropshire’s tourism offer and over 6,000 people attended the event during a record-breaking heatwave.

The funding helped towards the event planning, promotions, and event entertainment.

Co-working spaces were created in Oswestry, Wem, Bishop’s Castle, Ludlow, Bridgnorth, Market Drayton, Cleobury Mortimer and Shrewsbury.

Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for growth, regeneration and housing, said: “The positive impacts this funding has had upon real people and their businesses is astonishing. During one of the most challenging times modern businesses have faced, it is brilliant to hear some of the resounding success stories that highlight the resilience of the business community.

“Congratulations to those businesses who managed to survive and thrive during times of struggle, and thank you to the council’s economic growth team who helped to deliver this programme.”