AN UPTON business has cashed in on a rural grant from the council to help expand its premises.
GPD Contracts Ltd, a rendering and external wall insulation contractor based at Upton Business Park, was awarded a grant of almost £4,000 towards their project.
The small business used the Malvern Hills District Council funding to incorporate a new office space and improve an existing office room.
Funding has also allowed to hire an additional employee who is working as an operations co-ordination.
Simon Grove, Director at GPD Contracts Ltd, said: “As a small company, we are growing steadily and have been for some time.
“We got to a point where in terms of running the sites and everything that goes with it, we just needed that extra person.
“That is when we looked at the rural funding. We would definitely recommend it; it has really helped us.
“We are very pleased to have been involved and to receive that support.”
The Malvern Hills Rural Fund provides grants of between £2,500 and £25,000 to support new small or micro-businesses in rural areas, helping farmers to diversify into other sectors, and growing tourism.
The money can only be used to fund physical projects such as new buildings or renovations and not for staff or day-to-day running costs.
Individual grants are on offer, but businesses will be expected to match 50 per cent of the total cost of a project.
Expressions of interest for Round Four of the funding must be submitted through the Malvern Hills District Council website using the online form by April 8.
The funding comes from the Government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Councillor Beverley Nielsen, responsible for tourism and economic development, said: “It is great to see an example of how the Malvern Hills Rural Grant has helped a micro-business improve and provide the opportunity to create new jobs within the district.
“We hope this encourages other businesses to apply for funding to make their projects ideas a reality.
“There is still time to put in an application, I’d encourage rural businesses to take a look at the council website to find out more”.
Visit www.malvernhills.gov.uk/rural-fund for more information.
