The Isles of Scilly Voucher Scheme is now delivering the final year of the contracted programme which was set up to deliver £1.36 million of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding to support business development and growth across the Isles of Scilly. All the funds have now been committed to local businesses and we are now closed for applications.
The Voucher Scheme has been a clear success so far delivering exceptionally well in terms of job creation, new services and product creation.
Milena Fallows, Programme Manager for IOS Voucher Scheme, said, ‘I am very pleased that we have managed to allocate the full funding amount to the local business community and to do so well ahead of schedule.
‘It is has been an exciting opportunity for many of the businesses we have worked with to grow and implement changes far quicker than they possibly could have without the funding, if at all; many of these businesses, old and new, are now providing new jobs and new services to the islands, which of course, boosts our local economy and strengthens our tourism offer. It is incredibly satisfying to see these businesses up and running and flourishing with the additional support.’
Due to the high demand for business development funding on the islands and our successes in delivering the project so far, we have submitted an application for further ERDF funding to allow the project to continue until the end of 2021. With this in mind, we would encourage interested parties to keep working on their project ideas and submit an expression of interest to:
Potential applicants should be aware that in the interim, we will:
- Continue to advise project developers on their project’s eligibility for the voucher scheme funding,
- Signpost applicants to other organisations or projects that can assist with funding and/or business support to advance their schemes as quickly as possible, and
- Develop a pipeline of ‘Oven Ready’ projects that are capable of contracting should we receive the additional funding.
Once we know more about the application for additional funding we will provide an update.
Publishing date:
Monday, 16 April, 2018