Property Activation Fund already attracting interest from prospective applicants

The grant funding scheme aims to encourage property owners, developers and tenants to carry out improvements to buildings in Goole town centre and bring empty or under-used sites back into use. It’s one of eight projects allocated a share of the Town Deal funding that Goole will receive from the Government as part of its ‘Levelling Up’ agenda. The Property Activation Fund will make the town centre a more attractive and appealing place to invest in and do business by restoring, refurbishing and, ultimately, reinventing buildings that are empty, under used or in a poor state of repair.

Last week, the Property Activation Fund team attended an event at the RaisE Business Centre in Goole, which was organised by Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, to raise awareness of the grants on offer among local small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

Speaking after the event, Andrew Hewitt, Regeneration Project Manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “There were more than 30 attendees at the event, which was organised to give local SMEs the chance to hear about a variety of business support and grant schemes on offer, so it seemed an ideal event to formally launch the Property Activation Fund.  Launching the Property Activation Fund at RaisE, we were able to have some very useful conversations with local developers and property companies, who were eager to find out more.

“We have already received a number of approaches from a variety of local businesses, private landlords and community organisations who are interested in submitting grant applications. The positive response to the project is encouraging and we’re really pleased with the level of interest it’s generating so far. We’d urge anyone with ideas to come forwards and have an informal chat with the team, who will be able to advise them on the next steps.”

A total of £4.175 million is available to help transform buildings and sites within the town centre and this will be allocated to applicants in three different size brackets – small (up to £20,000); medium (£20,000 to £314,999); and large (above £315,000). Funding is available to businesses, charities, voluntary sector organisations, learning establishments and public sector organisations in several postcode areas within the town centre. Full details of the eligibility criteria is available in the Property Activation Fund Guidance Document, which will be made available to prospective applicants.

Anyone who would like more information, or to arrange an appointment with the Property Activation Fund team, is asked to email: goolepaf@eastriding.gov.uk. You can also find out more about the eight projects allocated a share of the Goole Town Deal funding, including the Property Activation Fund, on: The Goole Town Deal website.