Herefordshire Visitor Experience Fund REPF - Grants

Look out for further funding rounds.

The Herefordshire Visitor Experience Fund is a capital grant scheme that has been funded by the UK Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). 

Please read the background information before you apply.

This is a capital grant scheme. Funding is for capital projects which:

• Support the tourism sector, and help it remain an effective and successful contributor to the Herefordshire economy. Projects should seek out opportunities to support new business growth in the Herefordshire tourism sector, and encourage and support the creation of new jobs.
• Develop local visitor trails and infrastructure to support this, such as information boards, visitor centres, etc.
• Develop local tourist attractions
• Develop local visitor experiences based on local offer.

Successful projects must be able to demonstrate and evidence how they will be achieving the following outputs and outcomes:

• Jobs created (post equipment purchase or building works)
• Jobs safeguarded (post equipment purchase or building works)
• Business creation
• Increased turnover
• Increasing visitor numbers
• Improved visitor experience

Your project must meet at least one of the above outputs and outcomes.

Examples of projects

Projects which help the development of local rural tourism, green tourism and rural leisure are eligible, for example:

• Wedding venues
• Trails
• Green camping sites
• Local tourist attractions or products to be sold to tourists
• Projects that support the local Herefordshire Visitor Experience like tourism boards, visitor centres

Businesses that are located in the eligible rural areas can apply.

• The map below indicates the urban areas (in red) that are not covered by the grant scheme. These are Hereford City and Colwall.
  When you submit the application form, the Delegated Grants Team will check the project/business location is in the eligible area for this grant.
• New businesses less than 12 months old must be formally constituted and registered with Companies House or have an HMRC/UTR number*
• Sole traders, small and micro businesses must provide their HMRC/UTR number*

*To meet our definition of a small or micro business, the business must employ 49 or fewer employees

Herefordshire Visitor Experience Fund map exclusion zones

Enter your postcode to check whether your business location is in the eligible area for this grant.

The following are not eligible for this funding:

• Businesses employing more than 49 employees
• Public authorities
• Town and parish councils
• Voluntary groups
• Social enterprises that are not involved in economic activities
• Businesses where the majority of income comes from public sources
• Franchise businesses and national chains
• Gambling and betting establishments
• Eligible businesses whose registered address is in Herefordshire but who are not trading in Herefordshire
• Retailers (whose main focus of operation is NOT to retail local products)
• Property developers and landlord
• Pubs without accommodation
• Applicants who have successfully applied for the same project through the Rural Enterprise Fund UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Businesses who have been successful in accessing the Rural Enterprise Fund and wish to apply to this scheme should discuss their project with the Economic Development team (Business@herefordshire.gov.uk) before submitting their application.

This is a capital grant scheme. Eligible costs are:

• Capital items - purchase of equipment which must be specific to the project
• Building works - alterations to existing commercial buildings (not including maintenance) and groundworks to create a trail. Note: we will require confirmation of the necessary approvals such as planning permission, landlord's consent and building regulations (if applicable for your project)
• Individual items must cost a minimum of £250

Items and end use must be retained until March 2025 or 12 months post final grant payment (whichever is the longest period).

The following costs are not eligible:

• Costs specific to tourism: such as refurbishment necessary to purely retain the current star rating of tourist accommodation, brown signs, or hire costs (covering equipment or temporary structures)
• General costs: including marketing costs, housing, relocation costs, the cost of obtaining permissions or consents, contingency funds, costs incurred after the grant approval date, or items for which you have already received grant support
• Professional fees for example Architect or Quantity Surveyor
• Business operational costs: including salaries, in-kind contributions, recurring licence fees such as subscriptions or service charges (including software), mobile phones and marketing.
• Financial costs, or costs where there is a statutory duty to provide them: including bad debts, advance payments, insurance policies, working capital, lease costs, pensions, and reclaimable VAT
• Purchase of land or buildings
• Works to domestic or residential properties
• Speculative building projects
• Building works to properties not used and occupied by the business making the grant application
• No revenue costs or running costs, for example consumables, stationary, salaries
• Services, for example solicitor fees, legal insurance
• Training
• Renewable energy only installations projects
• Corporate responsibility items – health and safety, Disability Discrimination Act
• Like for like replacements of obsolete equipment with little or no added value
• Furniture
• Computers
• Vehicles, trailers
• Items purchased through hire purchase agreements
• Second-hand if not covered by a six month warranty and has not been previously bought with a grant
• Applications solely for renewables installation will not be eligible (if part of a project will be considered and must be supported by a decarbonisation energy efficiency plan)
• Investment in normal agricultural operations/ equipment
• Purchase of livestock or plants
• Non-economic activities  (a non-economic activity is an activity performed with the purpose of rendering services to others without any considerations of financial gains. Activities that are initiated for personal content or for meeting human sentiments are non-economic activities).
• Funding for any project work that has already been committed to or has been completed
• Any business activity that is illegal or deemed unsuitable for public support by Herefordshire Council and DEFRA
• Projects that duplicate existing publicly funded provision will not be supported.

Capital grants are available for businesses, for up to 70% of the total project costs. 

30% match funding from a private source, such as the business' own resources, is required.

For example: 

• Minimum grant £2,500 – total project costs must be at least £3,571
• Maximum grant £15,000 – total project costs must be at least £21,429

The grant has to be match funded by the applicant's business. This is the difference between the grant you are seeking and the remaining cost of your project. The source of the match funding cannot be from other public funds for the item you are purchasing.

All applications must be for capital projects only.

In your application form you will be asked to demonstrate:

• You are delivering clear added value. Projects that seek to deliver routine maintenance will not be supported
• You have robust systems and processes for capturing and reporting expenditure and performance information (outputs)
• Robust business planning which demonstrates the viability and deliverability of the project

Herefordshire Visitor Experience Fund application form

Or contact us for a form:

• Email: delegatedgrants@herefordshire.gov.uk
• Telephone: 01432 260753

Please email the completed form to the address above clearly stating in the subject heading Rural England Prosperity Fund Herefordshire Visitor Experience Fund.

In order to apply for the funding you will need to have completed and/or submitted the following documents:

• Completed and signed application form
• Project costs spreadsheet
• All quotes and formal tender documentation to verify costs
• Companies House number or HMRC or UTR number
• Evidence of funding, e.g. a recent bank statement
• If trading more than 12 months, provide a minimum of one year financial accounts/ management accounts
• If trading for less than 12 months, provide a business plan and 12-months cashflow forecast

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

When we receive all of the above we will acknowledge receipt. 

Once received, Herefordshire Council will acknowledge receipt of your grant application. The grant application will be assessed by an independent panel against the grant funding eligibility criteria the impact of the project and how it demonstrates value for money and the longer term sustainability of the project. The Panel will make recommendations before a final decision is made on whether to approve or reject it. Occasionally, the panel may ask for further information before a decision can be made.

All applications are subject to funding availability.

Based on your application and any further information you may have been asked to provide, we will advise you of the decision to:

• Offer a grant or
• Offer a grant with some specific conditions or
• Reject the application detailing the reasons why the application was not accepted

When you can start your project

If your application meets the eligibility criteria and you are offered a grant, you will receive an offer letter setting out how much grant has been approved and detailing any specific terms and conditions. If you are happy to accept the grant offer and associated conditions, you will need to return a signed copy within 10 working days. 

You should not start your project until you have signed the acceptance of grant and returned it to the Delegated Grants Team.

Grant offer terms and conditions

If you are offered a grant, you will be sent terms and conditions specific to your project. 

Key points to consider are:

• You should not start your project until you have signed the acceptance of grant and returned it to the Delegated Grants Team. 
• You must acknowledge the grant funders UK Rural England Prosperity Fund in your communications and publicity materials. Branding and Publicity must comply with UKSPF branding and publicity guidance.
• You need to keep all paperwork relating to your project, that is, all invoices, receipts, banks statements and publicity materials acknowledging the grant funders, as they will need to be submitted as evidence with your claims. 
• Information relating to outputs of your project should also be kept as they will need to be submitted as evidence with your claims. 
• The grant will only be paid on invoices or receipts that have been paid, and are dated after the offer letter has been agreed by all parties.
• Other specific conditions of grant will be included within your offer letter.

All projects must be practically and financially completed by 31 March 2024.

The grant will only be paid on receipt of a grant claim form, invoices and evidence that the items have been paid in full and delivered to your business address in Herefordshire. The grant is not paid in advance.

Please note items and works cannot commence, be ordered or purchased before receiving a grant offer letter. If an order has been placed before acceptance of the grant offer the grant offer will be withdrawn.

If you have any queries about the grant scheme or need some help with a technical issue, for example, trouble with the formatting of the application form or spreadsheet, please contact the delegated grants team: delegatedgrants@herefordshire.gov.uk

If you need more information on the grant and or updates on other funding opportunities please visit the Marches Growth Hub website or contact the Herefordshire Marches Growth Hub Team on 01432 383343 or email business@herefordshire.gov.uk

Read more about the Herefordshire UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Further information about the Rural England Prosperity Fund: interventions, objectives, outputs and outcomes summary - GOV.UK

UK subsidy control regime

Please be aware that all applicants are expected to complete the subsidy declaration within the application form for both schemes. The EU State aid rules no longer apply to subsidies granted in the UK following the end of the transition period, which ended on 31 December 2020. This does not impact the limited circumstances in which State aid rules still apply under the Withdrawal agreement, specifically Article 10 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The United Kingdom remains bound by its international commitments, including subsidy obligations set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the EU.

Herefordshire Council is providing this grant to any business / organisation as a Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA) subsidy under the Subsidy Control Act (2022).

MFA subsidy limit is £315,000 over a three-year period (including your current financial year and the previous two financial years). You are asked to confirm this within the full application form.

For more information visit UK Shared Prosperity Fund subsidy control.

Quotations for works and services

As a condition of the grant, the applying business must submit quotes to support their application for all capital items (physical assets). 

Individual capital items

• Each individual Item below £25,000  = 2 quotes
• Each item £25,000 +          = 3 quotes

This grant scheme will also fund building projects and must follow this process:

• Total building works contract below £25,000 =  2 quotes
• Total building works contract £25,000 or above  = formal tender process (speak to Delegated Grants Team for advice)

You will need to provide competitive quotes for each project cost and the quotes MUST meet the following requirements:

• Come from different, independent suppliers who are not linked to each other or to your business through shared ownership or control
• Include a detailed and itemised breakdown of costs
• Include the supplier’s business name, address (including postcode) and telephone number
• Be comparable with each other in terms of quality, size, quantity, units and specification for every item
• Have been obtained within the last 9 months and still be valid and
• Be addressed to the applicant (containing the organisations name, business or project address, if different, and postcode). If the quote is addressed to your agent, it must clearly reference the project and its location.

If using an online catalogue quote, please include the web link as well as a screen shot of the item with the price clearly visible.

If a quote is created on a Word document, you must forward on the email with the quote attached from each supplier.

The business will need to provide a rationale/ reasoned justification with regard to the chosen quote, if the cheapest supplier is not selected. A single supplier declaration form will be provided in rare occurrences where only one supplier can be found. This can be obtained by emailing the Delegated Grants Team at Delegatedgrants@herefordshire.gov.uk.

Grant offer terms and conditions

If you are offered a grant, you will be sent terms and conditions specific to your project. 

Key points to consider are:

• You should not start your project until you have signed the acceptance of grant and returned it to the Delegated Grants Team. 
• You must acknowledge the grant funders UK Rural England Prosperity Fund in your communications and publicity materials. Branding and Publicity must comply with UKSPF branding and publicity guidance.
• You need to keep all paperwork relating to your project, that is, all invoices, receipts, banks statements and publicity materials acknowledging the grant funders, as they will need to be submitted as evidence with your claims. 
• Information relating to outputs of your project should also be kept as they will need to be submitted as evidence with your claims. 
• The grant will only be paid on invoices or receipts that have been paid, and are dated after the offer letter has been agreed by all parties.
• Other specific conditions of grant will be included within your offer letter.

All projects must be practically and financially completed by 31 March 2024.

The grant will only be paid on receipt of a grant claim form, invoices and evidence that the items have been paid in full and delivered to your business address in Herefordshire. The grant is not paid in advance.

Please note items and works cannot commence, be ordered or purchased before receiving a grant offer letter. If an order has been placed before acceptance of the grant offer the grant offer will be withdrawn.

What happens if my project / budget changes?

The Council won’t be able to give you more grant money if your costs increase, but will consider variations within the agreed budget as long as these are approved in advance.

You need to notify the Delegated Grants Team in writing as soon as you realise that you may need to make some changes to your project or budget in order to deliver your project.

How do I submit my claim for payment?

A report and claim form will be sent to successful applicants with a grant offer letter. Claims will need to include invoices/receipts and bank statements showing defrayed expenditure.