Town Centre Recovery Grant Scheme
The Stapleford Town Deal business grant scheme was one of six projects to benefit from share of the £21.1m awarded by the Government’s Towns Deal fund.
This was to help the town’s businesses to recover from the pandemic. The scheme was opened to local businesses in January 2022 to apply for a share of £1m grant funding to help improve their existing premises and facilities and to retain their presence in the town. Applicants needed to provide their outputs which was a requirement of the scheme to consider job creation, accessibility and improve the buildings’ energy efficiencies that will stand the test of time.
We received over 100 applications which were reviewed by Grant Panel Members and funding awarded. There were a range of small schemes from £2,000 to provide signage and digital advertising up to £97,000 which was the largest award to refurbish derelict units to bring them back into use with 30% co-funding.
The scheme closed on 31 January 2023 supporting 74 businesses. Many businesses took the opportunity to improve their shop frontages during a difficult time of rising material costs and labour shortages but they have shown resilience to achieve their goals. All schemes were due to complete by 30 June 2023 with an extension of time given to a dozen projects which were completed by 30 September 2023. There have been some challenges which we believe we were able to overcome working closely with the owners, tenants and landlords to bring this new vibe to the town.
Case Studies
Local legal firm takes pride in its offices following Stapleford Town Fund Investment 
FF Legal Services, a high street legal practice in Stapleford, is enjoying a business boost thanks to a grant from the Stapleford Town Centre Recovery Fund.
The family-run firm was established by Fiona Frankland in 2012 after working for Chambers and Hind, a prominent Stapleford firm, that closed down. The business has since grown from a start-up to an established business serving the local community.
The Towns Fund investment has enabled an office refurbishment, new professional signage, upgraded technology with new monitors and a new phone system, as well as animated promotional videos that are helping the business reach more clients.
The most significant outcome has been a new storage service for clients to safely store legal documents with personal or sensitive data, including fire resistant safes and security measures. The success of this new service has led to the recruitment of an additional member of staff.
"It gave us pride in coming to work as our office became boutique," said Elena Frankland, senior will writer at FF Legal Services. "Ultimately this grant helped embed our services within the heart of Stapleford, and we are grateful we were given the opportunity through the Towns Fund."
Looking ahead, FF Legal Services plans to expand its team and client base in the future, to deliver excellent legal services like Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, emergency end of life Wills in hospitals and tax management to individuals in Stapleford.