We are delighted to announce that the Rural Business Development Grant Scheme is now open for applications. Rural micro-businesses outside the urban settlement limits of Lisburn, Carryduff, Dundonald or Belfast can apply for up to £4,999 of capital funding.
The grant scheme is part of the Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Programme funded by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
On this occasion, LCCC will be delivering the scheme for rural areas of Lisburn, Castlereagh and the neighbouring rural Belfast areas. Interested parties must attend a pre-application workshop to be able to apply for the scheme and the deadline to submit your grant application is 12 noon on Friday 8 November 2024.
Speaking about the programme, Alderman Amanda Grehan, Regeneration and Growth Committee Chair said: “We are delighted this scheme is moving into another round of funding to support local businesses to grow while tackling poverty within rural communities. We want to play our part in supporting businesses financially to recover, sustain and grow by managing The Rural Business Development Grant Scheme locally.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to help smaller businesses enhance their offering or to put into motion certain projects that were beyond their reach. Lisburn and Castlereagh is proud to have administered more than £280,000 in grant aid to local rural micro-businesses through this scheme to date.
“If you’re a rural micro-business with a project in need of support please get in touch and we’ll do our best to help you through the process.”
Alastair Luke, Founder of local photography business ATTNx, was a successful grant recipient in 2022 and used it to purchase a range of equipment to allow diversification into video production. He said: “The equipment I purchased through the scheme has been the single most important part of the growth of ATTNx this year and has allowed me to take on my first employee.”
Eligible applications must be from existing micro-businesses with less than 10 full time employees. The total capital costs of the projects must be between £1,000 and £20,000. The capital grants are capped at £4,999 at a match-funding rate of 50% from DAERA and 50% from participating businesses. Mainstream agricultural activity is ineligible for support under the scheme. The minimum grant awarded will be £500.
Examples of eligible expenditure include:
- new capital equipment/machinery
- computer equipment and software
- e-commerce websites
For more advice regarding eligibility, an application pack or to register to attend one of our mandatory funding workshops, please contact a member of the Programmes Team at email grant.programmes@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk or phone 028 9244 7615.