Page 26 - City Life Magazine - Spring 2022

26 Issue 58 • March 2022

SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES & JOBSEEKERS

Expand your business with

an Empty Retail Units Grant

Worcester City Council has launched an Empty Retail Units Grant
as part of the city’s Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan.

The scheme is open to businesses or
organisations located in Worcester
and will contribute towards the costs
of short-term use of empty retail units
with the aims of boosting footfall,
stimulating entrepreneurship, and
creating new jobs.

Businesses and organisations can
apply for a grant of up to £2,500 to
enable the temporary occupation
of a previously empty retail unit
anywhere in the city. The money can
be used for equipment, machinery,
building works, fixtures and fittings,
electrical appliances, and other
similar one-off items to help occupy
the currently vacant unit, as well as
marketing and promotion costs for
the project.

The City Council has given out four
grants since the scheme began,
with another four authorised for
payment, making a total of £20,000
allocated so far. One local business
that has benefitted from the scheme
is Bottles Wine Bar & Merchants in
New Street.

The third-generation Worcester
business recently expanded into
two empty units in Reindeer
Court shopping centre, adding a
delicatessen and rotisserie just before
Christmas, having successfully made
use of an Empty Retail Units Grant to
open a dedicated wine shop there
last August.

COUNCIL SUPPORT
“Overall Worcester doesn’t have too
many empty retail units but there are
more than there were a few years
ago,” says Helen Mole, Tourism and is top of our list. We admire and Empty Retail Unit Grant could help
City Centre Manager at Worcester respect anyone looking to start a your business expansion plans you
City Council, “so anything we can business at any point but particularly can read more and download an
do to get those filled and encourage in these challenging times, and we will application form at www.worcester.
businesses to take the opportunity do anything we can to support them.” gov.uk/business/empty-retail-units-
and chance to start their own business If you’d like to find out whether an grant

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