Communities and businesses benefit from £2.6m investment

13 May 2025

Communities, businesses and residents have benefitted from more than £2.6m of funds paid out by West Suffolk Council with more to come this year.

The investment has included work to bolster the capacity of community organisations, and to support health and wellbeing through helping grassroots sports clubs to improve local participation and activity. Improvements have also been made in local high streets and marketplaces as a result of the funding.

It has seen grants paid to small businesses boosting their productivity, investment in services that are helping businesses save money and provide free advice to aid their growth and direct them to appropriate sources of funding.

And it has seen the council back initiatives that benefit both the skills, training, employment opportunities for individuals as well as helping businesses plug the skills gap, retain staff and further their own plans for local economic growth.

The investments over the past three years have been made using £1,943,467 allocated to the council by UK Government under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and £753,701 under the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF).

West Suffolk has paid out all of the money allocated to it over the past three years meaning it has maximised the local benefit rather than having to return unspent funds to the Government as has happened elsewhere.

This year represents the final year of UKSPF and REPF. Next week will see West Suffolk Council’s Cabinet decide how more than £320,000 of its UKSPF allocation of £635,798 for 2025-26 should be invested to best support communities and businesses across the district. The remaining money for 2025-26 has already been agreed as part of a wider Suffolk programme of support. The council’s final REPF allocation, which is all capital funding, will be decided at a later date once plans have been developed further for suitable projects.

Cllr Cliff Waterman, Leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “I’m proud of the work achieved both under this current administration and the previous Cabinet, in ensuring these funds were made available and paid out through grants and other investments to deliver a huge range of benefits for our residents, our communities and businesses across the whole of West Suffolk.”

“This is Government money, but West Suffolk decides how it is invested in our area and through this we have also been working to deliver on three of our strategic priorities for thriving communities, sustainable growth and environmental resilience all of which are about helping people in the communities that we represent.”

“We are now in the final year of this Government funding, and I look forward to discussing with Cabinet how we best invest the last of the UKSPF to maximise the benefits for people living and people working here in West Suffolk.”

The funding had to be spent under three priorities: Communities and Place; Supporting Local Business; and People and Skills

Community and Place

More than £700,000 has been paid out of UKSPF over the past three years for funding Community and Place initiatives.

This includes £48,774 in capital sports grants to 61 grassroots clubs to boost participation and activity.  Among those to benefit are:

• Lakenheath Youth Football Club bought new equipment and has seen 30 new children join its training sessions
• Mildenhall and District Swimming Club bought new equipment and has seen 10 new swimmers join
• Risbygate Sports Club in Bury St Edmunds has seen 23 new members signed up for padel after it bought new equipment
• The New Croft Foundation in Haverhill also received a grant for new equipment and is now able to support over 100 participants every week including for people with Special Educational Needs
• Newmarket Joggers Athletics Club was backed with funding for walkie talkies for its marshals helping to support its series of events.

Newmarket Community Pantry Shop was backed with close to £23,000 of UKSPF for work to help people out of food poverty. 

Another £152,682 was paid out in grants to 33 community groups to help build their capacity. Community group capacity building included the establishment of a youth group in Ixworth, a lunch club, toddler group and over 50s group at St Johns Church in Bury St Edmunds and a creative social group in Haverhill. Brandon allotments also received a grant for new equipment while a community hub and gymnastics gym in Newmarket was also backed.

A £192,000 fund was also made available to Business Improvement Districts and town councils to support their work in attracting people to their town centres.

Other community funding included £14,702 to the Theatre Royal to support outreach programmes including youth theatre and another for the over 55s.

And £24,307 was allocated to support Haverhill Arts Centre in being able to co-host the Mutiny in Colour contemporary art exhibition featuring works by Banksy, Blek le Rat, The Connor Brothers and many more.

Supporting local business

More than £650,000 of UKSFP has been invested by West Suffolk Council on Supporting Local Business

This includes more than £425,000 paid out to small businesses through grants administered by the Growth Hub. Among the 41 businesses to benefit were RD Castings in Mildenhall which received a grant for new machinery to increase its output by 40 per cent. Maynard House fruit juice producers in Bradfield Combust increased production by 20 per cent with a new fruit press, purchased thanks to its grant.

Alongside this over 60 West Suffolk businesses have benefitted from free impartial business advice including on resilience, growth, access to funding and marketing, and wrap around support for small to medium-sized businesses looking to scale up, thanks to an investment of £24,082 to YTKO who operate the Growth Hub.

Businesses across West Suffolk have also benefitted from support from Groundwork East to help reduce their energy costs, and access grant funding.

West Suffolk Council also invested £40,678 to West Suffolk College for a computer numerical control (CNC) lathe enhancing the college’s capacity to train the future workforce and support the needs of the local economy.

People and skills

Over £500,000 of UKSPF was invested by West Suffolk Council in work to benefit people and skills.

West Suffolk backed Thrive for Young People with £98,000 from UKSPF. The programme run by Inspire gives young people in Suffolk aged 16 to 24, tailored support and skills to take the first step into employment, education or training and helped 88 people in 2024-25.

The council also supported Apprenticeships Suffolk with £40,000 to boost apprenticeships to support business and economic growth, helping more than 100 people.

And £145,000 was invested in West Suffolk College to provide tailored support to local businesses through its Talent Forge range of programmes. The initiative helps boost adult skills and qualifications and businesses to fill skills gaps, boost productivity and to retain their workforce and helped 90 people in 2024-25.

Rural England Prosperity Fund

REPF funding had to be spent in areas of the district outside Bury St Edmunds, in line with the Government’s rural designations. Money from REPF has included £190,000 awarded to 44 projects that had not been successful in their applications to the council’s Thriving Communities Fund due to the large number of applicants. This included the pavilion refurbishment in Eriswell, new picnic tables, benches and bins at Brandon Remembrance Playing Fields, and improvements children’s play area in Brockley, Exning and Ousden.

Other REPF allocations included:

• £35,000 to support Newmarket Charitable Foundation in delivering a new cinema for the town
• Over £45,000 to make Half Moon Park in Mildenhall accessible for people who use a wheelchair
• More than £23,250 in a collection of projects increasing green space and biodiversity in Haverhill
• In excess of £52,000 through a 415m long wider and wheelchair accessible pathway from the Yellow Brick Road to the Guarded Orchard in Newmarket
• Close to £19,000 for improvements to Brandon Country Park lake including a new filtration system, repair work to the banks, and removal of invasive species.

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