The full impact that funding support has had in helping the county’s economy to recover from the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic has been revealed.
Thousands of people and businesses benefited from a range of projects funded by the economic support that we provided through the pandemic and beyond.
An investment of £4.5 million was provided by us towards Team Devon’s Recovery Fund as well as £8.6 million of Community Renewal Funding awarded to us in 2021/22 by the UK Government.
Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills, said:
“These sources of funding have had a positive and wide-ranging impact on jobs and businesses in the county. Of course, a lot of sectors were badly hit during the pandemic and in some cases the recovery has been slower than anyone would have liked. However, our funding support has helped people to learn new skills or re-train, change career path or progress with their current employer, and businesses have grown and become more resilient thanks to this vital support.”
Devon’s Recovery Funding
From March 2021 to March 2023 Devon’s Recovery Fund focused on long-term recovery through 22 projects. The £4.5 million investment helped to:
- Support more than 2,200 businesses to adopt digital solutions, improve their business practices, incorporate green innovation or start-up;
- Create 94 new jobs;
- Provide employment support to more than 1,400 people and support over 2,300 training places;
- Plant 14,000 trees and support over 300 farms to become more resilient;
Some of the main projects supported with recovery funding were:
More than £750,000 was invested in seven innovative low carbon projects and technologies to drive green growth in Devon’s economy. Among them was Tavistock based Altilium. Funding helped the company to pilot its patented technology to recover critical minerals from Electric Vehicle batteries. A year on, the business has received significant commercial investment to scale up its operations and it is establishing a new state-of-the-art lab at its Technology Centre in Tavistock, as well as developing a 10,000 square-foot pilot facility in Plymouth, to create around 50 jobs in the county.
Natural Capital Challenge Fund
Six local projects were awarded a share of a £300,000 grant which helped contribute to job creation and skills development, while improving and safeguarding the local environment. This included the Apricot Centre Community Interest Company (CIC) – School of Regenerative Land Based Business in Dartington. Following a successful pilot funded by the Natural Capital Challenge Fund last year, the Apricot Centre is now the only location in the country offering Level 2, 3 and 4 Diplomas in Regenerative Land Based Systems.
The Heart of the South West Growth Hub’s programme, Thrive, was among a range of business support programmes offering training and support services for the self-employed and small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay. Over 600 businesses have been supported through the Growth Hub’s Thrive programme.
Get Set to Tender
Get Set to Tender offered free tender and procurement support to small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Devon to help them respond to public sector organisation tendering opportunities. The programme helped a total of 48 businesses become ready to tender for local authority procurements in addition to supporting successful grant and bid applications.
The Made in Devon scheme was launched in 2020 in response to the growth in consumer support for buying local during lockdown. The scheme supports local businesses and establishes Devon as a source of quality local products and services
The Devon Work Hubs network was expanded with two new work hubs added in Bideford and Kingsbridge, and three other hubs were upgraded – the Devon Office at Modbury, The Tribe in Totnes and the Waffle House in Axminster.
Community Works
The Community Works (part of ability not disability) project run by Learn Devon helped teach digital and work skills to learners with learning disabilities. They produced a regular flyer that promoted local businesses free of charge. In Kingsbridge, the project helped 24 people to gain employment, 90 people with disabilities were enrolled on to courses, and 70 businesses were provided with free advertising.
During the recovery period the Be Ready Employer Hub, which supports Devon-based businesses, charities, social enterprises and public sector to understand and build on the benefits of employing (and keeping) people with disabilities and long-term health conditions, delivered training to 70 people from businesses across the county.
Training opportunities were provided for people working in Devon’s catering, hospitality, leisure, retail and tourism sectors across the Devon County Council area through the “Open Up to Skills” project.
Wellbeing Works, delivered on behalf of Devon County Council by independent charity Devon Communities Together, offered free wellbeing support to Devon-based businesses, employees, and individuals through one-to-one wellbeing checks and wellbeing workshops. 91 businesses and 262 people were provided with wellbeing support.
Agricultural businesses were supported to emerge stronger, more diverse and more resilient through peer-support groups, workshops and knowledge sharing. It also promoted grant funding opportunities and carbon audits.
Grants were also awarded to a small number of voluntary, community and public-sector organisations operating Community Energy initiatives across Devon in order to strengthen the Community Energy sector in Devon. This included Exeter Community Energy, South Dartmoor Community Energy, and Totnes Renewable Energy Society.
Community Renewal Fund
The funding awarded to Devon County Council through the UK Government’s Community Renewal Fund supported 13 innovative projects across Devon for six months. Some of their achievements were:
- More than 450 people went into education or training, while over 650 people gained a qualification and more than 55 gained employment;
- More than 3,600 people were engaged in life skill support;
- Over 540 businesses introduced new products;
- An estimated four tonnes of carbon were avoided as a result of support;
- More than £610,000 of additional investment was attracted as a result of support.
The community renewal fund projects were:
Biosphere led by The Biosphere Foundation CIC
Devon Enterprise Support for Social Entrepreneurs led by Dartington Schools for Social Entrepreneurs
Ability Not Disability led by our adult education service, Learn Devon – More than 200 people with disabilities have been helped into education, employment, training, or given one-to-one support through the innovative “Ability not Disability” project.
Devon Agri-Tech Accelerator led by us. The DATA (Devon Agri-Tech Accelerator) project provided support and research for farmers, growers, landowners, and other agricultural and Agri-Tech businesses to develop innovations which can help build a sustainable farming community in Devon with a reduced carbon footprint and enhanced productivity. The project resulted in the Devon Agri-Tech Alliance which now has over 200 members.
Devon Elevation Fund led by Devon County Council
Digital Devon led by Devon County Council
Stronger Together led by Mid Devon Mobility
Innovation for Youth and Community led by PETROC
Promoting Innovation and Enterprise led by PETROC
Velocity – VCSE Devon led by Cosmic
Eden Grounds led by Eden Project
Retrofit Skills and Business Accelerator led by The Retrofit Academy
Devon Start and Grow led by YTKO
For more information go to our Devon Recovery Fund webpages.
