£3million fund open for local businesses
A NEW fund is being opened to help the borough’s businesses innovate.
More than £3 million is being made available by the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (TVLEP) as part of its ongoing support to business growth with an emphasis on innovation and research.
It has launched two funding calls worth nearly £1.5m via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and both focus on research and innovation.
The first of the two opportunities supports the shift to innovative technology and will make Thames Valley Berkshire a more energyefficient, greener place to live and do business. The scheme is worth £432,671 and aims to encourage providers to improve services and sustainability in our towns, including activities in planning, transport, energy and health.
The larger of the two funding calls, Digital Enabling Technologies Knowledge to Market Accelerator, is worth £600,000 and comes via a multi-LEP call (Thames Valley Berkshire LEP, Enterprise M3 LEP, Dorset LEP, Solent LEP, Coast to Capital LEP and South East LEP).
The specification, in line with the recommendations of the Innovation South Science and Innovation Audit, sets to pull emerging technologies from the R&D stage into the market, allowing for economic growth.
And £1.733m of Local Growth Funds has already been committed to a ‘Smart City Cluster’ project, which complements the first European funding call and covers Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham and West Berkshire.
The project, due to commence this month, will deliver a smart city communications and data platform benefiting residents, employees and encouraging economic development. It will support a range of projects around transport, energy, environment and assisted living with a package focused on small-scale funding for startups.
The project will be delivered by Reading Borough Council, in collaboration with other partner authorities, with project management from Peter Brett Associates.
David Parry-Jones, Director and Technology Lead for Thames Valley Berkshire LEP, said: “This is an important stepchange for the LEP; investing in smart technology in addition to hard and digital infrastructure. The Smart City Cluster is intended to act as a catalyst for both the public sector and private sector.”
Rob McDonald, Director of ITS at Peter Brett Associates said, “The purpose of this project is to support the development of smart city solutions in order to improve the quality of life in Berkshire and open up huge opportunities for the low-cost deployment of smart devices for business, developers and Local Authorities to use.”
Thames Valley Berkshire LEP chief executive, Tim Smith, said: “I would encourage all businesses to explore the opportunities they offer to accelerate growth in these emerging and competitive markets. The investment will ensure that our sub-region continues to be the natural place do smart business.”
ERDF is operating under a two-stage application process. The deadline for receiving outline applications is Friday, January 26.