Mayor scraps green grants for small businesses

Mayor Paul Bristow said the green grants scheme did not deliver value for money

A scheme helping small businesses reduce their carbon footprint has been scrapped.

The Green Business Grant Project began offering grants of up to £15,000 to companies in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in 2022, but will no longer continue as it "does not align with mayoral priorities".

Paul Bristow, the Conservative leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, which oversaw the scheme, said it was because "larger projects with higher impacts" should be prioritised over "small, non-strategic grants to businesses".

But Liberal Democrat Karen Young, a member of the funding committee, said she was "very disappointed that we're diverting funds away from green projects".

"It is a political decision," Mr Bristow said at the meeting. "Some people will agree with it, some won't. We can launch a brand new scheme, asking for businesses to apply, or we can get bang for our buck from existing projects."

The fund has previously benefitted hundreds of businesses and other enterprises across Cambridgeshire, but applications had not yet opened for the coming year.

The grant money, totalling up to £150,000 for 2025-26, will instead go towards investigating the feasibility of turning a disused nightclub in Huntingdon into a cinema, widening proposals to create an action plan to regenerate Abbey in Cambridge, upgrading the accessibility of Northstowe's community centre - and helping improve high streets throughout South Cambridgeshire.

Shepreth Wildlife Park and the Denny Abbey and Farmland Museum were among the enterprises to previously benefit from the Green Business Grant Project, which was open to companies with three to 250 employees.

'Second to none'

Mitsa Ltd, a garment decoration and embroidery firm based in St Ives, received £14,000 to install solar panels. Its owner, Daniel Sharratt, said at the time that the "support and advice" received as part of the scheme was "second to none".

Merchandise creators Vibrant Colour Limited, based in Sawtry, also complimented the scheme after it received a £6,200 grant to help it lay out a roadmap to net zero carbon emissions.

Creative consultant Christopher Smith said the programme was "delivered in plain English" and helped them draw up plans to replace their oil-fuelled boiler with electric heating, install LED light bulbs and fit solar panels on the company's roof.

'Hit net zero'

Despite scrapping the scheme, Mr Bristow said it was "important to do what we can to hit our own net zero targets".

"But we live in one world and what we do here in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is only a very small fraction of it," Mr Bristow told the BBC. He pointed to India, China and the US as more significant emitters of carbon.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and support the county to reach net zero by 2050.

Ms Young from the authority said it was "small businesses that struggle the most to do the things that they need to do to save money".

The scheme was created by Cambridge City Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority under Labour's Nik Johnson.

The money came from what was then called the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as part of its UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government must still approve the change of use of money before it can go ahead.