Funding secured for community, culture and local economy projects

Sheffield City Council has secured grants from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which will go towards community, culture and local economy projects.

Funding has been secured for three years and will go towards a variety of projects such as Cost of Living support, helping businesses reduce their carbon footprint and continuing to provide the crucial on the ground support for businesses through Business Information Officers.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund forms part of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and will see £2.6 billion of funding for local investment distributed to areas, for local accountable bodies to administer – in South Yorkshire this is the role of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SMYCA).

South Yorkshire has been allocated £39m and SYMCA has shaped a South Yorkshire Investment Plan, approved by Government in late 2022, which sets out three key themes directing the funding: Communities and Place; Local Business Support; and Employment and Skills.

The Council has worked closely with SYMCA and the other South Yorkshire local authorities to develop some regional programmes, as well as locally focused projects that have the potential to run through to 2025.

• Cultural and visitor economy programme - £346,560 – A series of projects highlighting Sheffield’s cultural assets and events, helping to build visitor economy and boost community pride.
  
  
• Sheffield Cost of Living Fund – £850,000 – Working with the South Yorkshire Community Foundation, this fund will support community groups working to lessen the impact of the cost of living crisis in Sheffield.
  
  
• Business Information Officers – £244,953 - Originally brought together during Covid-19 to help high street businesses stay abreast of guidance and access funding, this expert team has become integral to the Council’s business support and this funding will allow this to continue. Business Information Officers visit businesses door to door across Sheffield, gathering essential knowledge of the issues businesses are facing, and give owners in-depth, tailored support.

And finally, 3 core elements of regional business support priorities:

• Business Productivity Programme – £2,046,895 – The continuation of a project which has given invaluable support to businesses across South Yorkshire - helping them to work smarter and find valuable efficiencies. It offers grants of up to £12,500 for productivity and digital adoption projects.
  
  
• Low Carbon – £1,291,960 - A South Yorkshire wide programme supporting businesses to reduce their carbon footprint through a sustainability audits and grants for carbon reduction measures. These grants will be administered by Sheffield City Council.
  
  
• Launchpad programme – £686,969 - A programme supporting new entrepreneurs across South Yorkshire to start and scale their businesses. Through a mix of workshops, events and one to one support from business advisors and coaches, it helps new business owners explore and challenge their ideas and make a strong start in business.

Cllr Terry Fox, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said:

“Across Sheffield there are people doing incredible work for the benefit of our city, in our communities and on our high streets, and I’m pleased we have been able to secure some critical funding to continue and build on that. We’re extremely passionate about Sheffield and everything it has to offer and we hope this funding will go some way to give a much-welcomed boost to our economy, thriving culture and fantastic communities.”

Notes to editors

• The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025.The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus