By Eric White

BUSINESSES, charities, clubs and community groups could benefit from the launch of an Essex County Council Funding website.

Run by the Council’s Funding and Investment team, the website – funding investment.essex.gov.uk provides a one stop shop for organisations looking to access funding from across the UK and Europe.

Since 2013, the Funding and Investment team has successfully secured over £64million worth of funding for the Council, voluntary and community sector organisations, public sector bodies and businesses across Essex.

Cllr John Spence, Cabinet Member for Finance at Essex County Council said: “Many organisations look at funding, but are turned off by the complexity of applying for these pots of money, or fail at the first hurdle not understanding the options available to them.

“That is exactly why we have a team of specialists who are able to assist you, not only in better understanding what is available both in the UK and Europe, but also how you can develop a funding strategy, looking at your organisation’s plans now and for the future.

“Importantly the team also work directly with the funders themselves which help us to influence their funding programmes and gives us information on what they are looking for in a bid.”

One such company that has benefited from working with the team is Brightlingsea based CTruk. A company specialising in advanced marine vessels, they successfully received £1million of grant funding from the Government’s ‘Regional Growth Fund’.

This funding has enabled the construction of an Advanced Composite Technology Centre, incorporating a training facility, on the River Colne in East Colchester, which is expected to create 120 new jobs over the coming years.

Pete McIntosh, Chairman of CTruk added: “Working with the Funding and Investment Team allowed us to develop our bid and gain more understanding on what the ambition of the funders was.

“This funding has enabled us to diversify into other markets, work on bigger vessels and also, educate and train the next generation of modern boat-builders.”

For more information or to discuss your needs with a member of the team visit funding-investment.essex.gov.uk or contact [email protected].