Grant Scheme 1: Empty Properties

1. About this grant scheme 
Through the Newcastle East High Streets Project we are offering grant funding that will bring empty properties back in to use on the high street.  The primary purpose of the funding is to unlock space to provide a range of uses including community, creative and commercial that will contribute to creating better services for local people. We particularly welcome applications relating to Shields Road. 

Grants will be awarded in line with the eligibility below.  However, please note that applications will be accepted under the current version of the Empty Properties Grant Scheme up to and including Friday 31 May 2024.  After this date, the scheme will be paused and reviewed.

1.1 Background
Newcastle East High Streets project is a transformation programme aiming to revitalise the high streets in the east end of the city.  Funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) this pilot will deliver changes on the ground to tackle issues around empty properties, poor quality public realm and connectivity, with a focus on Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road, Shields Road and part of Welbeck Road. Together with business support provision and grants to animate space and foster collaborative actions between residents, community groups and businesses, the project will develop a long-term plan for the area, co-produced with the local community. Plans for Newcastle high streets unveiled | Newcastle City Council

1.2 Our priorities  
A key objective of the project is to address the current high street offer and vacant shop units by using the space on high streets differently. During the project’s initial engagement phase (August to October 2022) Have Your Say Today - Project Engagement Report - Newcastle High Streets (commonplace.is) respondents highlighted a number of issues in relation to the environmental landscape including the appearance of empty properties. 

They also expressed a desire to see a more enhanced and diverse high street offer with a greater variety of services. Small independent shops including those selling fresh food, the provision of cultural opportunities, activities for older people, children and families were frequently requested. To support the diversification of the high street we are now making funding available to businesses and organisations to bring unoccupied space back in to use.  The grant funding will enable improvements and enduring changes to the project area which in turn will help to increase footfall and spend and contribute to improving the vitality of the target high streets.  

1.3 Who can apply for a grant?
Funding is available to support small businesses, sole traders, charities, community interest companies (CICs) and arts and culture groups.  

Businesses/organisations are not eligible for support if: 
They are in administration, are insolvent or where a striking-off notice has been made 
The award of grant would breach subsidy allowance limits 

Audit checks will take place where you may be asked to support the evidence supplied. Should applicants be unable to provide satisfactory evidence, your application may be refused. If you have already received a grant, you will be required to return this to the Council. We reserve the right to request additional evidence at any time. 

1.4 What will we fund?
Investment must be focused on an empty property or underused space within a property located on a high street in the project area i.e., Shields Road, Chillingham Road, Welbeck Road (western part between Bothal Street/Allendale Road and Roman Avenue/St. Anthony’s Road), Heaton Road and Heaton Park Road.
 
The primary purpose for the space is to accommodate activity that will support regeneration of the high street through a range of uses including community, creative and commercial. 
We would not support uses that do not align to the values (inclusive, healthy, vibrant) and intended outcomes of the project.  For example, we would not allow spaces to be utilised for betting shops, take-aways, tanning salons or vape shops.  

Please note that we are unable to provide a list of empty properties.  We are expecting that applicants will have identified a property prior to applying for grant funding.   

1.5 Available grant funding 
We will fund revenue and capital projects.  However, the scheme does not support works which have already been undertaken or any works which are started prior to a formal offer of grant funding being made.  The available grant funding includes:

Revenue Grants of up to £15,000 for expenditure that includes but is not limited to: 
•    Feasibility studies 
•    Market research 
•    Professional fees including planning, consultancy fees and advisory services

Please note that revenue costs are those specifically related to bringing a property/space back in to use and not for costs associated with general business development.  Business support can be accessed here Citylife Business Support - BIPC North East

Capital Grants of up to £25,000 for physical improvements to properties such as:
•    Interior refurbishment and structural works 
•    Exterior works where this enables greater use of space (e.g., accessibility improvements) including outdoor space 
•    Furniture and equipment for the space (if part of a wider improvement scheme) 

Applicants can apply for a Revenue Grant and a Capital Grant although not simultaneously i.e, it is expected that a Capital Grant application would follow a successful Revenue Grant and inform proposed capital activity.  Applicants are limited to one Revenue Grant and one Capital Grant.

We expect to award grants of no greater than the maximum amount. In exceptional circumstances we may be willing to consider grants beyond the maximum amount however this will be entirely at our discretion and may require additional evidence and monitoring requirements.  

There is no minimum grant award; but strategic fit will be more difficult to justify for very small projects. 
We expect project costs to be external costs to the applicant. We will not reimburse internal charges e.g., internal staff time. 

1.6 Match funding 
Applicants are required to contribute at least 20% of the overall cost of the investment. This applies to both revenue and capital grants. Applicants must be able to demonstrate how they have already or will in the future contribute their own money towards the overall cost of the investment.  

The table below gives examples of how the total project cost, high street grant and match funding work:

1.7 Subsidy Control
The United Kingdom has now left the European Union, and there is a new UK subsidy control regime. The previous State aid rules no longer apply in most circumstances. 

Under this new subsidy control regime, the Council is permitted to award an individual/organisation up to £315,000 in the elapsed part of the current financial year, and the two financial years immediately preceding the current financial year.

Funding is subject to this allowance not being exceeded during that period. This £315,000 allowance also includes any previous funding you/your organisation received as de minimis State aid (under the previous regime). Applicants will be required to declare that receipt of this grant will not take them above this threshold.

Further information on this allowance can be found within Section 7.2 of the guidance

2. Applying for a grant 

2.1 Application process 
Potential applicants must first express an interest in the scheme by contacting economicdevelopment@newcastle.gov.uk. Please use ‘High Street Grants’ as your subject heading and provide a brief outline of your ideas/proposal. 

If you meet the eligibility criteria, an officer will then be in contact to arrange a phone call to further discuss your proposal.  Following this, applicants will be sent an application form. 

Once an application has been submitted a completeness and eligibility check will be undertaken before it is considered by the assessment panel.  The essential eligibility criteria are set out below.
We may request further information or clarification on an application, and this may impact on the assessment schedule. 

We aim to make decisions within a month of the receipt of an application.  

There is currently no deadline for this scheme, though this may change in the future as funding is awarded. We expect the first applications to be assessed in April 2023, with subsequent assessments taking place roughly every month (except December). 

2.2 Evidence required to support the application 
Applicants are required to provide 3 quotes for all proposed expenditure.
For capital grants, the following evidence is required:

Evidence of a signed lease for the property/or title deeds
A copy of the floorplan (this does not need to be a technical drawing)
Photographs of the current space prior to refurbishment 
Permission from the property owner/landlord to carry out the works

2.3 Assessment of the eligibility of your application
On receiving an application, we will check whether it meets the following essential criteria:

Business is not in administration/insolvent/dissolved or subject to a striking off notice/proposal to strike off notice.
Award of grant will not breach Subsidy Control limits (£315,000 as of January 2023).

The application form is fully completed, signed and dated and you must have sent us all the supporting information we ask for (including evidence of 3 quotes for each cost identified).

The project is focused on an empty property or underused space within a property located on the high street i.e., Shields Road, Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road or Welbeck Road (western part between Bothal Street/Allendale Road and Roman Avenue/St. Anthony’s Road).

For capital grants you must own the property or have a signed lease in place before an application can be considered.  
The applicant can contribute at least 20% of the total project costs.

The application includes an itemised breakdown of project costs and total project costs.

2.4 Panel assessment of the project 
Applications will be considered by a panel who will review each on a case-by-case basis; and reach a view based on the strategic value of the investment in the wider context of the Newcastle East High Streets Project. 
This assessment will consider whether the outputs that will be achieved by each grant will directly or indirectly contribute towards project output targets and provide good value for money. The panel may decide to approve, reject, or ask for further clarification or amendments to the proposals. There is no appeals process. 

The panel will use the following criteria to assess an application:

How the proposed activity will help to address and improve the current high street offer and how it will contribute to furthering the aims of the project.

Why the funding is needed and why the work would not go ahead without a grant.

How the investment will deliver economic and social outputs and benefits (e.g., direct jobs created, creation of space for community or business activities, number of businesses or non-commercial organisations accommodated, total floorspace of the new space).

Does the project provide value for money.

Grant awards will be made at the levels set out above to applicants satisfying the above eligibility criteria, subject to the availability of resources.  

2.5 Receiving a grant offer 
You will be notified in writing if you have been successful with your application. 
Prior to receiving a formal offer of a grant, we will provide you with a Subsidy Control Eligibility letter to be returned, to confirm that the amount of financial assistance offered will not cause your organisation to exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance threshold. This is to ensure compliance with legal obligations governing the award of subsidies by the Council and other public bodies.

The grant offer will include:
The maximum value of the grant and the value of your match-funding.

Details of your grant including start and completion dates, outputs agreed, when payments will be made and when Monitoring Returns are due. 

General terms and conditions including how to promote the grant and details of document retention.

Together with your grant offer letter, we will send you:

A Successful Applicant Pack, to include our financial claim form, output forms and logo pack.

A Monitoring Return template to enable you to report your project’s progress and outputs on agreed dates. 

You will have two weeks to accept the offer, and sign and return the offer.  On-going support will be provided by the project team throughout the delivery of your project.

Successful applicants will receive written confirmation stating that by accepting the grant payment, they confirm they are eligible for the grant scheme, including that any payments accepted will be subject to subsidy control requirements.
 
2.6 Promoting your Project
As part of your grant offer letter, you will commit to acknowledging your Newcastle East High Streets grant.  We require that you make reference to the project and the funding in your own promotional materials where applicable (websites, press releases and social media content), stating that it is funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority and the UK Government thorough the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and using logos that will be provided in a logo pack.  
The wording below should be used: 
“This [project name] has been supported by the Newcastle East High Streets Project, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with the North of Tyne Combined Authority as the lead authority.” 
For social media please use the hashtag #newcastleeasthighstreets 
You will also be required to provide copies or screenshots of promotional materials at the end of the project. 

2.7 Good Work Pledge
Applicants will be encouraged to join North of Tyne Combined Authority’s Good Work Pledge. More information about joining the scheme can be found at: https://goodworkpledge.co.uk/

2.8 Grant payment
Grant funding for approved projects will be paid in arrears, in agreed instalments on production of invoices, receipts and evidence of defrayal e.g., a bank statement, as detailed in the Grant Offer Letter.  The frequency of the instalments will be determined by your project’s timetable and will be agreed upon an offer of grant funding.

The final 10% of your grant will be paid once your project is complete upon satisfactory completion of works/activity (this includes planning and building control sign off, advertising consent for new signage plus any required licensing certificates where applicable), evidence of spend for the total project costs as well as submission of final monitoring information.  

You must also enclose the below documentation where applicable:

Where your project involved refurbishment or a physical change to premises, you must provide after photographs. 
If your project led to the creation of a new space for business/community activities, you must provide a copy of a floorplan showing the area of net new additional space (this does not need to be a technical drawing).

If your project led to the creation of a new space for business/community activities, you must provide evidence of such activities, for example, a record of who occupies the space, bookings, events documentation, etc. 

If your project led to the creation of jobs, you must complete a Jobs Created Declaration Form with details of the jobs created. 

Documentation should be sent to economicdevelopment@newcastle.gov.uk 

If you have any queries in relation to the payments or evidence we require, please contact Vanessa Nogueras, Programme Support Officer, on 0191 211 5673, or vanessa.nogueras@newcastle.gov.uk  

The last date you can claim money from us is 3 months from the completion of your project. If you expect any delays, please contact us as soon as possible.

Failure to deliver any output targets set may result in clawback. 

2.9 After project completion 
Upon completion of your project, we will provide you with a Subsidy Control Confirmation Letter, with details of the total grant received, which you must retain for 3 years. 

The grant approved is funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority and the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. In accordance with funding regulations, you are required to keep relevant evidence until at least December 2033.

Grants are part of the Newcastle East High Streets Project, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with the North East Combined Authority as the lead authority.