Council support available to access business grant opportunities

Local businesses are reminded about the grant opportunities that are currently available for them to access in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Here, we look at how two businesses in Mountain Ash and Pontypridd have successfully secured funding, having benefitted from the support offered by our Regeneration team.

The Council offers local businesses dedicated advice and assistance to help access a range of financial investment programmes that are available – using funding earmarked from external sources such as the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns initiative. Here is a summary of two opportunities currently available:

• Town Centre Minor Improvements Grant – supporting small-scale maintenance work to town centre shop or building fronts, that contribute a positive impact on the street scene. The maximum grant is £2,000 (plus an extra allowance of £500 towards skips and scaffolding), to cover up to 75% of eligible costs. The grant can also be accessed for vacant buildings.

• Business Growth Grant – supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to grow, for those businesses that demonstrate a clear and effective business proposal with energy efficiency as a key consideration. The maximum grant is £15,000 to cover up to 75% of eligible costs. The grant can be accessed by all start-ups and existing enterprises in RCT.

For more information on these grants, including further details about the eligibility criteria and how to apply, please visit the Council’s website here.

Rustico – Taff Street, Pontypridd Town Centre

Rustico is a traditional pizzeria with a Neapolitan-inspired menu that has recently opened in Pontypridd. The company initially contacted the Council in summer 2023 to explore any financial assistance that was available for their move into a vacant restaurant. They would be undergoing a full internal and external refurbishment of the building, while fully-equipping the restaurant.

Working closely with the Regeneration team, Rustico benefitted from around a 60% contribution from the Town Centre Minor Improvements Grant for the cost of new signage and painting the shop front. The restaurant also secured around 10% of the project costs for the internal refurbishment and to equip their kitchen, from the Business Growth Grant. The company has said it is extremely grateful for the Council support it received to secure this funding.

The Blackened Teeth – Cardiff Road, Mountain Ash

The Blackened Teeth specialises in the designing and manufacturing of Gothic Home Décor. Their product collections consist of gothic lighting, ornaments, candles and artworks. They distribute worldwide and have global stockists. Having previously received a business start-up grant from the Council, the company got in touch to explore funding opportunities to create a new photographic studio, and to recycle cardboard waste into packaging for business use.

Officers helped the company secure a Business Growth Grant worth 75% of the project costs. It helped to buy a camera, photography equipment and studio lighting, enabling The Blackened Teeth to execute professional photography in-house and lower its operating costs. The grant also contributed to the cost of a carboard shredding machine, which has enabled a part-time employment role to be retained and generate a full-time role in its dispatch department. The business has partnered with a local primary school for a recycling project where the pupils bring cardboard to fuel the cardboard shredding machine and learn about how we can recycle to reduce waste.

Councillor Mark Norris, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Prosperity, said: “Through its dedicated Regeneration team, the Council is committed to supporting local businesses – to have a positive effect on developing the local economy, to improve our town centres and retail areas, and to encourage private sector investment in such locations.

“One of the important ways of doing this is making businesses aware of the grants that are available, and providing support to traders to find out more, apply, and ultimately secure funding. Two examples are the Town Centre Minor Improvements Grant and the Business Growth Grant, which are both currently open and available to be accessed. I’d urge interested businesses to contact our Regeneration team to find out more.

“It’s also great to see how successful applicants have put their funding to good use, and the case studies of Rustico and The Blackened Teeth show how the grants can be secured for a wide range of uses. These were two very different applications, but both demonstrated they could grow their business with clear and effective proposals that met the eligibility criteria. I’d like to thank both companies for working closely with us, and wish them well for the future.”