Do you live in a market town or rural part of Cambridgeshire? Is your community facing the loss of vital services such as shops and pubs? Is a much-loved community facility at risk or closure, or do you have ideas about bringing new services to your community?
There are more than 700 community-owned businesses in rural areas across the UK, including shops, cafes, multipurpose hubs and pubs, each of them run democratically by the community, for the benefit of the community.
Plunkett UK is a charity that works to support groups to set up community businesses, helping them to save their assets and run them in a sustainable and impactful way.
With funding from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Plunkett is currently able to offer early-stage community businesses free advice and support on how to get their business off the ground, including guidance on community engagement, legal structures, business planning and raising the funds to do it.
In addition, Plunkett is offering feasibility grants of up to £5,000 to help groups cover the costs of early-stage work such as building valuations and surveys, consultation materials and incorporation costs. They also have capital grants of up to £45,000 to help with the purchase, renovation or refurbishment of assets from which new community businesses will run.
