Current programmes
In addition to our universal business advisory service, Plunkett has a number of current programmes of grant funding and business support with specific eligibility criteria:
Advice and grants for community assets in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
With funding from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Plunkett is able to help community groups across the region take ownership and operation of local assets, such as pubs, shops, cafés and other community buildings, that are vacant or at risk of closure.
It is part of the Combined Authority’s Market Towns Programme which aims to revitalise the area’s market towns and rural hinterlands. Our model is being used to create community hubs that could include retail, cafés, meeting rooms, co-working facilities, allotments, and accessible green spaces, among others.
Small grants of up to £7,500 are being awarded to community groups to cover costs of starting a new community business, including the cost of forming a Community Benefit Society, property valuations and surveys, legal fees and architect fees.
Follow-up bigger grants of up to £45,000 are being awarded to up to 12 groups who can demonstrate strong, feasible plans and the ability to get money from other funding agencies and community partners. This capital grant will pay for costs such as purchase and refurbishment.
Advice and grants for community pubs in Scotland
Plunkett has been working with the Scottish Government’s Scottish Rural Network Unit over the last three years to deliver business advice to communities in Scotland looking to bring their local pub into community ownership, as well as to support those already trading.
The 2024-25 programme of support will provide funded advice to community pub groups, with small development grants and feasibility grants of up to £2,000 available for communities looking to bring their pub into community ownership. Through the programme, we will continue to deliver the Scottish Community Pubs Network, which provides peer-learning and networking opportunities for community-owned pubs across Scotland.
Advice for community-owned businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
With funding from the Dulverton Trust, Plunkett is working to ensure our support service is adequately tailored to meet the needs of communities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to ensure we’re breaking down the barriers to accessing our support – for example, by delivering more of our services in the Welsh language.
In addition, funded advice and support is available to all types of community-owned business across the UK, to help rural communities to create innovative, inclusive spaces that make a real impact in their local community.
For more information about any of these programmes, please contact our Community Business Team.
