Malvern Hills Town Centre Support Scheme Application Guidance
Contents
Accessing the Application Form
Tips for a Successful Application
Using the Application Software
Introduction
This document is intended to give you some useful information to help you present a strong and convincing case for why you should receive a grant award for your project from Malvern Hills Town Centre Support Scheme.
Included in this document are some hints and tips, and details of what will happen next. Under the ‘Completing Your Application’ section, we have addressed each of the questions in the order that you will find them in the application. We recommend that you use this document alongside completing the application. Of course, if you have any questions, you can Contact Us for further information. You can find our details in the Contact Us section.
Please ensure that you complete all sections of the application form accurately and provide us with all required documentation; without these we will not be able to process your application.
Before you apply
Documentation required for the Town Centre Support Scheme online application form
If you are applying for a grant as a new start-up business (trading for less than 12 months), you will be asked to submit a business plan. If you need help producing a business plan, please contact us.
If you are planning to refurbish / decorate the interior or exterior of a premises you will be asked to submit a quote(s) for the work proposed and you also will be asked to submit a copy of your lease agreement with your landlord.
As part of the council’s due diligence checks, all established businesses applying to the Town Centre Support Scheme will be asked to submit a copy of their most recent accounts. These are stored securely and will be treated as a confidential document. Applicants who have been trading for less than 12 months will not be asked to provide accounts as they will need to submit a business plan.
*Please do keep in mind that you can easily save and return to your application at any point. See Using the Application Software section below.
Accessing the Application Form
To begin your application, please click the link below to access the online application form. This will take you directly to the form, where you can provide all required details and upload any supporting documents.
Tips for a Successful Application
- Clear Objectives: Clearly outline the objectives and expected outcomes of your project.
- Detailed Budget: Provide a detailed and realistic budget with quotes to support your cost estimates.
- Value for Money: Demonstrate how your project offers value for money and benefits your business or organisation.
- Supporting Documents: Include all necessary supporting documents, such as permissions and quotes; without these we will not be able to assess your application.
Using the Application Software
- As you progress through the application, you will have the opportunity to save your work and finish it later. You will receive an automated email that will include a link to go back to your saved work.
- At the top of the application, there is a status bar telling you how much you have completed so far.
- Fields that are compulsory are identified by a *. If you forget to complete a compulsory field and attempt to move to the next page, there will be a warning message prompting you to complete the missing information.
- You can navigate forwards and back, if you need to check or change what you have entered.
- At the end of the form, provided you agree to receiving emails, you will be sent an automated email with a copy of what you have submitted.
Eligibility Requirements
To determine which funding stream you should apply for, the application will first ask whether you are a privately owned or independently managed business—or planning to establish one—that trades from a retail unit in one of the five town centres in Malvern Hills, or whether you are the owner of a vacant or occupied unit within this area.
- If you answer Yes, you will be directed to the questions for the Town Centre Support Scheme
- If you answer No, you will be directed to the questions for the Malvern Hills Growth Fund.
Before you can continue with the application, you must confirm that your business or organisation, and your proposed project, meet all the eligibility criteria. These confirmation questions will appear at the start of the application form. They are also listed below:
Eligibility Criteria:
- You are a business, CIC, social enterprise or not-for-profit organisation that:
- is based in Malvern Hills that generates commercial income through the sale of goods or services.
- The purpose of the grant is to support economic growth in the district’s town centres, and your project should demonstrate a strong, positive impact on the growth of your business or organisation, and/or the town centre it is located in.
- Your project will be at least 50% match funded.
- If your application includes building works, you have contacted us before submitting the application to discuss any planning considerations, and you have confirmation that you are able to proceed with your application.
- If you are a startup business or organisation—meaning your business or organisation has not yet started trading or has been trading less than one year—you have:
- completed approved business start-up training (e.g., Worcestershire County Council affiliated training) or can demonstrate equivalent knowledge through experience or alternative training, and;
- have a business plan.
Unfortunately, if you are unable to confirm that you meet these eligibility criteria, this means your project does not meet the eligibility requirements for this grant scheme, so you are unable to continue with your application. If you need further advice, please Contact Us.
Ineligible Expenditure
After confirming that your business or organisation and proposed project meet all the eligibility criteria, you will be asked whether your project includes any ineligible expenditure listed below:
Ineligible Items:
- Solar panels and their associated equipment, including batteries and invertors
- Marketing, promotional and branding activities, including website development, unless undertaken by a start‑up, in which case all of these activities are eligible where they support business growth.
- Vehicles (e.g., cars, vans, delivery vehicles)
- Statutory or legal obligations/requirements
- Insurances
- Staff costs
- General operating or running costs, including recurring revenue expenses (e.g., utilities, rent, subscriptions, licences)
- Mandatory skills training
- Repaying existing loans or debts
- Reimbursement of goods/services already purchased prior to the date of an offer letter
- Projects that enhance the productive capacity of farms or primary agricultural producers, including machinery, equipment, or activities that directly increase on-farm agricultural output. Note: This exclusion applies only to projects undertaken by farms or businesses directly engaged in primary agricultural production and does not apply to businesses that supply goods or services to the agricultural sector, provided those businesses are not themselves carrying out agricultural production.
- Creation or purchase of short‑stay tourist accommodation units, including (but not limited to) self‑catering accommodation, glamping units, holiday pods, lodges, cabins, shepherd huts, yurts, safari tents, or any other prefabricated or modular visitor‑accommodation structures
- Items subject to finance, credit facilities, or hire-purchase agreements
- Activities that may bring Malvern Hills District Council into disrepute
Unfortunately, if you cannot confirm that your project excludes all ineligible items, you are unable to progress your application. If you need further guidance, please Contact Us.
Completing Your Application
The first question in this section asks you to confirm whether you are a startup business or organisation—meaning your business or organisation has not yet started trading or has been trading less than one year—or an existing business or organisation, meaning you have been trading for 12 months or more. The Town Centre Support Scheme maximum grants that can be applied for are £2500 and this could be for one element or a combination of elements of the scheme. Smaller grant applications are welcome, for example if the project / work you are proposing is going to cost a total amount of £800, you could apply for up to 50% of the cost (ie £400) as match funding.
*Later in the application, you will be asked to confirm the exact grant amount you are requesting. As you must provide at least 50% match funding, your grant request cannot exceed half of your total project costs.
About You
This part of the form allows you to provide basic information that enables us to contact you if we have any questions, or when we are ready to tell you how your application is progressing. If you have used an agent, consultant, or business manager to complete your application, and you want them to act on your behalf, you can provide us with their contact details.
About Your Business or Organisation
- Business or organisation name and address: Please ensure that you include the full legal name and the address where your business or organisation is registered.
- Legal status of your business or organisation: Select the legal status that best describes your business or organisation from the list provided. If you select ‘Other’, you will be asked to specify your exact legal status.
- Links or relationships with an elected member or officer: You must tell us if you have any personal, financial, or organisational links with an elected member or officer of Malvern Hills District Council. This information does not make you ineligible, it simply enables us to manage any conflicts of interest and ensure a fair, unbiased assessment process.
- The number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staff: For the purposes of this programme, 1 FTE (Full‑Time Equivalent) is defined as 30 hours or more per week. Please include yourself when calculating FTEs. Part‑time staff should be counted on a pro‑rata basis. For example, if one person works 20 hours per week and another works 25 hours, their combined 45 hours equate to 1.5 FTE.
- Annual Turnover or Income: Please tell us your total turnover or income for the last full financial year. Start-up businesses (trading for less than 12 months) or organisations that have not yet begun trading should enter N/A.
- The sector you operate in: Select the sector that best reflects your business or organisation. If you select ‘Other’, you will be asked to specify.
- Primary day-to-day activities: Describe the normal, day‑to‑day activities your business or organisation undertakes. This helps us clearly understand what you do and how your project fits with or develops your existing operations. If your project involves expansion or diversification, you can explain this later in the application.
- Affiliated businesses or organisations: We need to understand whether your business or organisation has any affiliations that may impact on your eligibility for funding. For this programme, we define an affiliated business or organisation as:
An affiliated business or organisation is any entity that is directly or indirectly related to another through ownership, control, or a significant shared interest. This includes, but is not limited to, parent or holding companies, subsidiaries, sister companies under common ownership, and entities with shared governance or financial control.
If your business or organisation has any affiliations with another business or organisation, you will be asked to provide details of that affiliated business or organisation, including the name, the nature of the affiliation, the total number of FTEs, Turnover (£) and Balance Sheet (£). Contact Us if you have any questions about this definition.
- Public funding in the last three years: Grant funding limits applicants to a maximum of £315,000 public sector funding in a rolling three-year period (this is the Minimum Financial Assistance limit set by the UK Government). This also includes any de minimis grant support you may have received via the European Union. For this reason, we ask you about any public funding you have received in the last three years. You must tell us about any public sector funding received, its purpose, the amount, and when you received it.
- Identifiers and reference numbers: You will be asked to provide details of the following identifiers and reference numbers.
- Universal Tax Reference – if you are self employed
- Companies’ House Certificate of Incorporation Reference Number
- Registered Charity Number
If an identifier or reference number does not apply to your business or organisation, enter N/A.
- VAT status: If your business or organisation is VAT registered, you will be asked to provide your VAT number.
- Start-up businesses or organisations: If you are a start-up business or organisation, which for the purpose of this programme means your business or organisation is operated under a new legal entity and has not yet started trading or has been trading less than one year, give us details of any approved business start-up training that you have received. This will include Worcestershire County Council affiliated training, such as the Enterprising Worcestershire Start-It Business Masterclass. If you have not undertaken approved training, you can tell us about any relevant or alternative training that you have received which will help to demonstrate your readiness to start and manage your business or organisation.
You will also be asked to upload a copy of your business plan. If you need any advice or support on preparing a business plan Contact Us. As part of the assessment of your application, we need to evaluate the strength of your business case and your ability to deliver it. This is so we can be satisfied that any grant you receive will lead to sustainable growth.
- Existing businesses or organisations: You will be asked to upload a copy of a full set of accounts. These should be your statutory audited/unaudited accounts, or if you are a sole trader, a copy of your most recent HMRC self-assessment return. Please ensure that all pages are included. If these are older than 6 months, you will also be asked to provide your most up-to-date Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss information.
If you are an existing business or organisation and do not have a full set of accounts, you will need to provide an explanation.
There will also be an opportunity to tell us about any unusual changes in your turnover or profit margins, large amounts of cash at the bank, or dividends or directors' remuneration averaging over £150,000 per director/shareholder each financial year over the last 3 years.
As part of the assessment of your application, we need to evaluate the financial stability and health of your business or organisation, so that we can be satisfied that any grant funding we provide, will be managed appropriately.
Businesses and organisations that are in financial difficulty, have ceased trading or have closed without being required to do so as part of Government and local restrictions; are dissolved or about to be dissolved; are insolvent or if insolvency action had been instigated against them (including any petition or where a striking off notice has been made); are dormant, i.e. not trading but not insolvent, are not able to apply under this programme.
About Your Project
- Project name: Your project name should include the name of your business/organisation, and one or two words to explain your project. E.g. XYZ Business – Painting Exterior or Business – New Equipment.
- Project start date: Projects must not begin until they have received funding approval. You should allow at least 4 weeks from submitting your application to receiving a decision.
- Project end date: Projects are normally expected to be completed by 31st January 2027. If your project is likely to continue beyond this date, you should Contact Us in advance to discuss your project idea and proposed timeline before submitting your application.
- Where the project will take place: The project must be delivered within one of the Malvern Hills Town Centres: Tenbury Wells, Upton upon Severn, Great Malvern (including Link Top), Malvern Link or Barnards Green.
- Rented, leased, or tenanted land or premises: If your project will take place on rented, leased, or tenanted land or premises, you must upload a copy of the lease or tenancy agreement. We need to be satisfied that you have legal permission to use the land or premises for the project, as well as checking to ensure that any risks are appropriately managed. For example, a short lease agreement could put a project at risk of not being delivered or result in the benefits being only short-term.
- Buildings work and change of use of existing buildings: If your project involves either buildings work or the change of use of existing buildings, you will need to tell us if planning consent is required.
- You must ensure that work proposed is in keeping with the surrounding built environment and following the rules that apply to Conservation Areas that many of our town centre buildings are located in.
- It is your responsibility to check if Listed Building Consent is required and you are strongly encouraged to visit the Council’s Planning and Conservation website pages prior to submitting an application. Planning and Conservation Areas
- For shop front improvements, heritage renovations and proposed colour schemes, you will need to ensure that your project will preserve and enhance the character and appearance of your premises, in keeping with the surrounding built environment. You can read more information: The Historic Environment
If you are unsure whether your project needs planning permission, you can ask the Local Planning Authority to confirm this by applying for a Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Use of Development. Please note that there is a fee for this service, and you should allow at least 8 weeks from the date your application is submitted for a decision.
If you have received any professional planning advice, please provide the name and contact details of the person who has given you the advice.
If your project involves buildings work and/or the change of use of existing buildings, you will be asked to select one of three statements that apply to your proposal:
- It does not amount to development, under section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, or the change of use is not a material one (i.e., it is not subject to the requirements of planning control).
- It is permitted by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended), or that the material change of use is permitted by the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended).
- It will be done or carried out in accordance with a planning permission.
Where relevant, you will be asked to provide reference numbers, decision dates, and upload copies of consents.
We cannot accept proposals that require the grant of planning permission, unless this has been agreed with us before completing your application.
- Permissions or licences: If your project requires permission, including listed building consent, or licences to be delivered, you will be asked to provide details including the type of permission or licence and the date that this was obtained or is expected. We need to be satisfied that your project is compliant and can be delivered within the timescales you have outlined.
We cannot accept proposals that require the grant of listed building consent, unless this has been agreed with us before completing your application.
- Project costs: You will need to outline for each item or area of work that you propose to have funded, a description, the name of your chosen supplier, and if applicable, the names of suppliers 2 and 3, together with the quoted cost for each net of VAT and including VAT.
For grants up to £2500, you will need follow the council’s procurement rules and submit one quote per area of work / item.
You will need to upload copies of all quotes you have received, making sure that the files you uploaded have a file name that includes the Work/Item number.
We expect that you will choose the cheapest supplier, however, your procurement process may consider other factors. If you have not chosen the cheapest supplier, you should explain the basis of your choice.
You can apply for funding for up to 50% of the costs. Costs should be net of VAT unless the VAT is recoverable. You should ensure that this figure matches the combined costs of your chosen suppliers.
We will ask for confirmation of the amount of match funding that you will be contributing to the project and its source. You will be asked for the total amount of grant funding that you are requesting (that can be up to a maximum of 50% of the total project costs or a maximum amount of £2500 grant).
- VAT costs: If your business or organisation is VAT registered, we expect that you will have excluded VAT when entering the funding costs for your project. If you have not excluded VAT, you should explain the reason for this.
- Explaining your project: This is your opportunity to describe:
- What the project involves
- Activities to be delivered
- The purpose and need for the project, including supporting market need
- How the grant will be used
- How the project will address the problems or opportunities identified
Your answer should be specific, clear, and concise.
You are encouraged to upload photographs, diagrams, or site plans showing existing conditions or proposed layouts.
- Who will be managing the project delivery: Have you designated a specific individual within your business or organisation to oversee the project's delivery? How will this responsibility fit into their regular duties? Given that project management can be demanding, it's important to assess the support and resources they will need to successfully manage the project and ensure timely and effective completion.
Project Impacts and Business Outcomes
- Project outputs: Select from the list all the outputs you expect your project to deliver. The options are:
- Job creation – New roles that will be created directly as a result of the project.
- Increase in turnover – Anticipated growth in your organisation’s revenue.
- Increase in visitor numbers – Expected rise in the number of visitors or attendees.
- After selecting your outputs, you will be asked a few additional questions to help us understand your projected outcomes in more detail:
- Job creation: How many additional full‑time equivalent (FTE) staff do you expect to employ as a direct result of the project?
- Increase in turnover: What is your expected increase in turnover one year after the project is completed? (Turnover refers to the total income your business or organisation receives.)
- Increase in customer / visitor numbers: How many visitors do you currently receive, and how many additional customers / visitors do you expect to receive each year, one year after project completion?
If you anticipate any other outputs beyond the three listed above, you will also have the opportunity to provide details.
We are keen to capture any other outputs that might impact the environment. For example, if you are applying for the development or sustainability element of the town centre support scheme, please detail how the grant will enable you to reduce carbon emissions and reduce your overheads as a business or organisation.
Return on investment:
- We are keen to understand how your project will make improvements towards Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. For example, accessibility improvements or creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment.
- To help us understand the financial benefit of your project, you should consider and calculate the return you are expecting on the total investment proposed by your project. Put in simple terms, what is the financial gain that you are expecting and how have you arrived at this figure.
- Impact on residents, other town centre businesses and organisations: With any investment, there can be a ‘ripple’ effect, with residents, other businesses and organisations also benefitting. Tell us what these benefits are for your project. Will other town centre traders find that their revenue increases? E.g., offering an additional service could mean attracting more visitors to the town centre who in turn, will use local shops, attractions and hospitality. Will the improvement enabled by the grant help attract more visitors to the town centre, will it increase dwell time and will it improve the quality of life of local residents?
Declaration
Please ensure that you read all the statements included and that you are authorised to sign the declaration. If you do not understand any of the statements, please Contact Us. You can find our details in the Contact Us section.
Privacy Policy
Please ensure that you read and understand the statements and Contact Us if you are unclear. You can find our details in the Contact Us section. To receive an automated notification confirming receipt of your submission and providing a copy of your answers, you should ensure that you answer ‘Yes’ to receiving emails. If you prefer not to receive this notification, you should answer ‘No’ to receive emails.
Next Steps
How your application will be assessed
Your application will be assessed through a clear, consistent, and impartial process designed to ensure fairness for all applicants. The assessment process includes the following stages:
- Initial Review
All applications undergo an initial review by the Economic Development team to confirm that the required information and supporting documents have been provided.
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- You may be contacted at this stage if clarification or additional information is needed.
- To avoid delays, please ensure your application is complete on submission and respond promptly to any requests for further information.
- Eligibility and Due‑Diligence Checks
Complete applications proceed to formal eligibility and due‑diligence checks. These checks ensure that:
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- your organisation and project meet the programme’s eligibility criteria,
- financial and organisational information is accurate and robust, and
- the proposed project aligns with the aims and requirements of the grant programme.
Independent Assessment
Eligible applications are then assessed against a set of clearly defined criteria by experienced officers.
Assessment criteria include (but are not limited to):
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- Demonstrated need for the project and evidence of how it will deliver a strong, positive impact on business or organisational growth.
- Value for money, including evidence that competitive quotes have been obtained and that proposed costs are reasonable.
- Need for public funding, including whether the grant requested will deliver a proportionate level of outputs and outcomes.
- Financial viability, considering the stability of the organisation and the affordability of the project.
- Return on investment (ROI) and the scale of economic or organisational benefits compared with the cost of the project.
- Project sustainability and long‑term impact, ensuring the outcomes are meaningful and proportionate to the amount of grant funding requested.
- Deliverability, assessing whether the project can be successfully delivered on time and within budget.
Ensuring Impartiality and Fairness
To ensure a rigorous and unbiased process:
- All assessments follow a standard scoring framework.
- Assessors declare any conflicts of interest; where a conflict exists, a different assessor or panel member is assigned.
- Decisions are recorded, and an audit trail is maintained to ensure transparency and consistency.
The Final Decision
Following the assessment process, a formal recommendation will be made based on the outcome of the eligibility checks, due‑diligence review and appraisal.
- Once an appraisal has been carried out, recommendations are submitted to the Visitor Economy and Place Manager who will make the final decision on whether a grant offer can be issued.
All decisions are made using the same assessment criteria and within a consistent decision‑making framework to ensure fairness, transparency and impartiality. Applicants will be notified of the outcome once the decision has been finalised.
Unsuccessful applicants will receive a letter explaining the reasons why their application was unsuccessful. Applicants can ask for the decision on their application to be reviewed if they think that:
- the decision was based on an error of fact;
- the decision was wrong in law; or
- a procedural error has been made.
What Happens Next
For successful projects, we will assess whether the award of funding constitutes a subsidy. If necessary, we will request a signed letter confirming that the grant award does not exceed the Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) threshold. Enterprises can receive up to £315,000 of MFA over three financial years.
We will then verify that we have the most up-to-date information before issuing a Grant Funding Agreement (GFA). The GFA must be signed by both parties and forms a legally binding contract, allowing the successful project to commence. While projects may choose to start before the GFA is signed, this is not recommended. Any work undertaken before the GFA is signed is done at the risk of the business or organisation receiving the funding.
Glossary
Affiliated business or organisation: For the purposes of this programme an affiliated business or organisation is any entity that is directly or indirectly related to another through ownership, control, or a significant shared interest. This includes, but is not limited to, parent or holding companies, subsidiaries, sister companies under common ownership, and entities with shared governance or financial control.
Existing business or organisation: A business or organisation that has been trading for 12 months or more.
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staff: For the purposes of this programme, 1 FTE (Full‑Time Equivalent) is defined as 30 hours or more per week. Part‑time staff should be counted on a pro‑rata basis.
Match funding: The money that an applicant must contribute alongside a grant. In other words, the grant pays part of the project costs, and the applicant “matches” it with their own contribution.
Permitted development: The types of building work or changes of use that can be carried out without needing to apply for full planning permission. These rights are granted automatically by national legislation (in England, through the General Permitted Development Order).
Planning consent: The formal approval from the local planning authority that allows you to carry out certain types of building work or change how land or buildings are used.
Procurement: The formal process of buying goods, services, or works from an external supplier. It is how a business or organisation purchases things in a fair, transparent, and cost-effective way.
Start-up business or organisation: A business or organisation that has not yet started trading or has been trading for less than one year.
Contact Us
For further assistance, contact Alexandra Powell, Town Centres Officer:
- Email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Phone:01684 862351