Belfast City Council: Business cluster and community grants

Overview

Capital grants for local environmental improvements

Capital grants between £10,000 and £25,000 are available for environmental improvement schemes on Belfast’s arterial routes, in urban villages and local communities which:

support business operation
enhance physical spaces
increase civic participation and sense of ownership
encourage people to live, work, visit and invest in local areas

Groups eligible to apply for a grant

Belfast-based community organisations, charities, social enterprises and business clusters can apply for a capital grant. A business cluster is five or more micro or small businesses collaborating to progress area-based improvement schemes. Individual businesses or traders are not eligible for a grant.

Applications from a business cluster

If a business cluster applies, one organisation within the cluster must be named as the ‘Lead applicant’ on the application form. The Lead applicant and the other businesses in the cluster must sign a Lead Partner Agreement.

Application criteria

Your application must:

clearly identify benefit for a specified area or cluster area of Belfast-based businesses - grants will not be given for single business use
benefit SME retail or hospitality businesses (including social enterprises and community-led groups)
demonstrate an ability to complete the environmental improvement scheme before 30 November 2023

Where proposed capital works will use public space, you will need the relevant licences (for example a pavement café licence), permits or permissions (including land ownership). You are responsible for leading and conducting relevant stakeholder engagement, securing and supplying agreement from all directly affected stakeholders. This includes adjacent businesses or residents.

Eligible capital costs

These costs are eligible for funding.

Minor capital works

shop frontage enhancements
awnings

Capital purchases

street furniture
inclement weather canopies (standalone)
outdoor heaters
outdoor furniture
street planters
hand-sanitisation stations
outdoor play equipment

Medium term capital investment

public realm works
meanwhile use of gap sites
creating or adapting spaces to enable creative and artistic activity
refreshing historic structures to add character and authenticity
community gardens
lighting schemes

Track grant Notes