Businesses in Leicester and Leicestershire are being reminded that they have just a few weeks left to apply for grants to help to pay for energy efficiency improvements.
Leicester City Council’s Green BELLE scheme offers grants of up to £10,000 to small and medium-sized businesses to help cover the costs of low carbon, energy efficient improvements to their premises.
Green BELLE grants can be used to support a wide range of measures such as installing efficient heating systems, low-energy lighting, building insulation or solar PV panels.
Grants can be awarded to cover up to half of the total costs, with the remaining amount paid for by the business as match-funding.
So far, the scheme has provided a total of £812,904 of grant support to over 150 local businesses. It is estimated that has helped result in carbon savings of over 1,000 tCO2e per year – equivalent to the total carbon footprint over 300 typical homes.
Businesses have also seen a significant reduction in their energy bills as a result of improvements made through the Green BELLE scheme, according to the city council.
One of those to have benefitted is Fashion UK, which was awarded a £10,000 grant towards the supply and installation of double glazed windows. ‘A’ rated double glazed windows are much more effective at reducing heat loss from the property, thus reducing the heating bill.
A site visit was arranged, which found that the old single glazed windows were causing the office area to be cold and draughty. The staff used individual fan heaters to keep warm as well as having air conditioning and the central heating system.
“These grants give local small and medium-sized businesses the chance to become more energy-efficient and save money on their running costs”, said Deputy city mayor Cllr Adam Clarke, who leads on environment and transportation.
“We have ambitious plans to help make Leicester a carbon neutral and climate-adapted city. The Green BELLE scheme is a really good way to welcome more local firms on board and show them that becoming more energy efficient is good for business and for the city.”
Cllr Danny Myers, assistant city mayor for jobs and skills, said: “Leicester’s wider future economic development is going to be driven by our large, thriving and diverse small and medium sized business sector. This scheme is a great way to both save these businesses money and ensure that the city has a more environmentally sustainable economy.”
Businesses must express interest in the scheme by the end of May 2022, and the deadline for submission of full applications is currently the end of June 2022. There is a limited amount of funding available being allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
All works must be completed by December 2022.
To find out more about the Green BELLE grant scheme, or to express an interest, visit www.greenbelle.org.uk
