£5m allocated to aid flood-effected SMEs in Leeds City Region

£5m has been pledged by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Investment Committee to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across Leeds City Region recover from the effects of recent flooding

Yesterday’s meeting of the Committee supported a recommendation to invest £5m from the Leeds City Region Growth Deal allocation to establish the Business Flood Recovery Fund.

£1.4m will initially be made available with the full £5m awaiting final approval by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Board at their meeting on 4 February. The new fund will be managed by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Business Flood Recovery Fund is set to set available by next week with grants of between £5k and £100k. The fund could support SMEs with critical capital investment requirements such as new equipment or hire costs for machinery and premises required to recommence or maintain their operations.

The fund could also go towards implementing internal flood resilience measures such as building a mezzanine floor to move business critical equipment to a higher point. Each application will be reviewed on a case by case basis and will need to be accompanied by a detailed flood recovery plan.

Support will be provided by the LEP’s growth managers, local authorities, Chambers of Commerce and the Manufacturing Advisory Service to help eligible businesses develop the plans and ensure business continuity over the long term.

Cllr David Green, chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Investment Committee and Leader of Bradford Council, said: “The funding approved today is about supporting local businesses with the long-term recovery by enabling them to resume trading, safeguarding jobs for local people and re-establishing supply lines to meet their customers’ requirements.

“With an initial assessment on the impact of the flooding on the regional economy suggesting the long term damage could be as much as £365m, it is clear we need government to work with us to achieve long term solutions that will prevent these destructive deluges and stop the idea of a Northern Powerhouse being overwhelmed.”

“With over 2,000 Leeds City Region businesses thought to be affected by the recent flooding, we are expecting a high volume of applications to the new Business Flood Recovery Fund but we will turn them around as quickly as possible.

“We will also be investigating ways to potentially provide support for companies that are facing cash flow issues because they are suppliers or customers of flood-hit businesses and will be discussing this on Thursday 4 February at the next West Yorkshire Combined Authority meeting.”

Roger Marsh OBE, chair of the LEP and deputy chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Investment Committee, added: “This funding is for those businesses that require the highest level of investment to get back towards operating at full capacity. Having visited some of the affected businesses in Calderdale myself, I know how vital this long-term investment is to return to the same level of trade as quickly as possible.

“The devastation of the flood is not going to be fixed overnight. However this funding will complement the initial rapid response support from our partner councils to address the longer term issues and costs businesses face in returning to full operation and alleviate any further impact on business growth.”

The Business Flood Recovery Fund will operate under the same guidelines as the existing LEP grant funding scheme currently supporting SMEs to grow in Leeds City Region. To be eligible for funding, businesses must be an SME and from one of the LEP’s priority sectors; manufacturing, food and drink, low carbon and environmental, financial and professional services, health and life sciences and digital and creative - although discretion will apply.

The Business Flood Recovery Fund application form will be available from the LEP next week and via local authority growth managers across the region.

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