Herefordshire Council’s Cabinet have voted to accept £6,642,136 of UK Shared Prosperity Funding (UKSPF) allocated to the county following government’s approval of the Investment Plan submitted in August 2022.  

Decisions on the implementation of the funding will be made according to the Herefordshire UKSPF Investment Plan. The Plan was developed by the Herefordshire Sustainable Growth and Strategy Board (HSGSB), which included representation from businesses, partners and stakeholders from across the county.

The funding will support a very wide range of activity including one to one business support, grants for research development and innovation, energy audits and advice.

There is funding to enhance services provided by the voluntary and community sector, in particular helping local people impacted by the cost of living crisis. Funds will also help local people with the skills needed to access employment, as well as developing the higher level skills required to enable local businesses to grow and people to access higher value employment opportunities.

Cllr Ellie Chowns, Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, said: “This new funding will help to support local people to improve their skills and access new employment opportunities, and support local communities and places. Furthermore, it will boost our local economy through helping to grow local businesses, and strengthen our efforts to address the climate and ecological emergency in the county.”