Investment in Essex
“Investment is traditionally defined as the ‘commitment of resources to achieve later benefits’”. Over the last few years, Essex has received a ton of investment to support both businesses and the wider community to thrive.
The Levelling Up Fund is a fund that invests in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities. First announced back in 2020 at the Spending Review, this fund has been particularly crucial as the UK recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the four investment programmes under the Levelling Up Fund is the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). This central pillar provides £2.6 billion of new funding for local investments by March 2025, with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation from the Fund via a funding formula rather than a competition. This means it will help the right places across the country deliver enhanced outcomes.
Another type of investment that certain areas in Essex have received is the Towns Fund. This fund has two major components. The first being Town Deals which is a programme that aims to regenerate towns and deliver long-term economic and productivity growth through investments in urban regeneration, digital and physical connectivity, skills, heritage, and enterprise infrastructure. The second component is The Future High Streets Fund Competition which aims to renew and reshape town centres and high streets in a way that improves experience, drives growth and ensures future stability.
What’s been invested in in Essex?
Basildon
Basildon has been awarded £185,000 from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Made up of £100,000 from the Digital Planning Improvement Fund and £85,000 from the PropTech Innovation Fund, this funding will see improvements to the digitisation of Basildon Council's planning system, providing new and improved opportunities for residents to engage in planning conversations.
Braintree
At the end of last year, Braintree District Council invited small businesses and community groups in rural areas to apply for the Government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund. So far, nineteen organisations are set to receive this grant of between £10,000 and £50,000 for the execution of capital projects in rural areas. The grants will be used to grow local tourism, help rural business with expansion and improve community facilities
Brentwood
Sixteen local businesses, clubs, community interest companies and charities in Brentwood have been awarded a combined total of over £422,000 in grants by the Borough Council to support the delivery of cultural and sport levelling up projects through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund from April 2024 to March 2025.
Castlepoint
Through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Castlepoint has been awarded grants to support the community in a multitude of ways. This includes supporting 50 creatives to develop activities for the Estuary Festival, creating better capacity of facilities for community use, purchasing a scanner to secure historic records in order to digitise, fire safety and flooring work, planting trees and shrubs in a community garden, and a Friday Youth Club for young people’s development amongst many others.
Chelmsford
Chelmsford has received over £1.1 million of funding from the UK shared Prosperity Fund, which they have allocated across 2022 and 2025 to deliver. They have funded projects such as; providing revenue grants of up to £10,000 to 15 voluntary and charity organisations, developing local business support programmes which included social media training, the Lean2 Green programme and ‘Get better in Chelmsford’ programme, delivery of Skills Fest which took place in June 2023 and saw over 1,000 year 8 students from seven Chelmsford secondary schools attend to learn about career opportunities ,and delivery in a range of smaller programmes focused on developing healthy and active lives amongst other things. They have also received £400,000 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund to deliver projects between 2023 and 2025.
Colchester
Colchester has received £40m from the Government’s Town Deal and Levelling Up Funds. They are bringing forward new and improved public spaces to enhance the experience of Colchester city centre and encourage longer stay time, new opportunities for business via a dedicated Digital Skills Hub and a separate Digital Business Centre, improved digital connectivity and bringing some heritage buildings into public use. One example of this is the 'Jumbo' Victorian water tower which can be seen from miles away on Colchester's skyline.
Epping Forrest
One of most recent the successful projects using UKSPF funding is Epping Forest’s investment in the ‘Discover App’ which they are now strengthening. Its primarily a place-based app that is useful for locals and visitors alike. It features things to do, places to go, cafes/restaurants/shops, much supporting the high streets and visitor economy. Also using UKSPF funding, Epping Forest are currently adding a layer to promote community-based activity and creating an awareness campaign via lamppost banners sites across the district promoting the app on one side and various places to visit on the other.
Harlow
Harlow Council secured £1 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to invest in a variety of projects in the town. The funding will help to deliver community projects such as: crime prevention activities in the Town Centre, improvements to the Harlow Museum, and funds to support the local Community Hub with supporting vulnerable residents. Harlow College is working in collaboration with Uttlesford District Council and Harlow Council to provide free places on selected courses across a variety of sectors to boost skills.
Maldon
Maldon District Council have an engagement contract with Let’s Do Business Group, which aims to engage, support and increase awareness of other funding/support opportunities. UKSPF has supported the revitalisation of Maldon Market in the town centre and will be delivering a new public pontoon this year. Announced as part of the Spring Budget this year, Maldon District Council has been provisionally awarded up to £5 million of capital funding to support local culture projects in the district, recognising the crucial role culture plays in levelling up and supporting pride in place. Maldon is also receiving over £430,000 across two years from the Rural England Prosperity Fund, focussing on grants for small-scale investment in micro and small enterprises, rural circular economy projects, and impactful volunteering and projects in local places.
Rochford
In Rochford, over £244,000 in grants have been awarded to support creative, heritage and high street projects that will be delivered between May 2024 and March 2025.Grants of up to £50,000 were awarded for projects supporting two of Rochford’s chosen UKSPF interventions – the first being funding for improvements to town centre and high streets, including capital spend and running costs, and enhanced support for existing cultural, historic and heritage institutions that make up the local cultural heritage offer.
Southend
The available funding for the final year of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Southend has been allocated to 13 organisations to deliver a wide range of local projects covering three key areas. There are 4 projects for Communities and Place: Impactful Volunteering and/or Social Action Projects, 4 projects for Local Business: Strengthening Local Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, and 5 projects for People and Skills: Employment Support and Access to Skills Courses.
Tendring
Tendring have been allocated over £1.1 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Most of the open calls and grants for 2024/25 have now closed. These included projects to enhance existing cultural, historic & heritage institutions, measures to reduce the cost of living, projects which stimulate the visitor economy, skills projects, and projects to support employed people to address barriers to education and training. They have also relaunched popular grant schemes which have no deadlines, and close when funding runs out. These include Shopfront Improvement Grants of up to £5,000, and ‘Extend the Season’ Events Grants for towns and villages, of up to £1,000.
Uttlesford
In year 1 and 2, projects that received funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Uttlesford included Business Start-up grants from Uttlesford District Council, Digital Access Points at Uttlesford Citizens Advice, Plot to Plate sessions by Dig It Community Allotment, Parenting Classes and the Creative minds project from Mind in West Essex, Start up and young entrepreneurs market project by Saffron Walden Town Council and a Bereavement Café at St Clare Hospice.
North Essex Economic Board
The North Essex Economic Board (NEEB) is a partnership of councils across mid- and North Essex, working together to make the area more prosperous for all. Each has contributed funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support initiatives such as improving the skills of residents, support for businesses and developing economic strategy to increase inward investment. NEEB is made up of Braintree, Maldon, Tendring, Uttlesford and Epping Forest district councils, Colchester and Chelmsford city councils, and Essex County Councils.
Since June 2023, Backing Essex Business, delivered by Let’s Do Business Group, has been helping to provide a business support service in the North Essex area. One way of doing this was through the ‘Blueprint for Business’ programme in partnership with The Consortium – 13 free online and in-person workshops running from late 2023, to early 2024. Blueprint for Business has returned for a second year, running from mid-2024, to early 2025.
