Green Business Grants

The West Kent Green Business Grant Scheme is designed to help cut your business’s carbon footprint. Please take a look at the below scheme information and if you have any questions or wish to seek advice on potential projects, email business.grants@sevenoaks.gov.uk

Applications are closed but further details are stated below. Follow Sevenoaks District Council on social media for future application dates.

 

There are two types of grants available. Please note, you cannot apply for both:

Section A grants

Grants of up to £8,000 to fund up to 40 per cent of business development initiatives.

This grant is open to Sevenoaks District businesses in the low carbon and renewable energy economy (LCREE) sector.

There are 17 Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy Sectors:

  • Offshore wind
  • Onshore wind
  • Solar
  • Hydropower
  • Other renewable electricity
  • Bioenergy
  • Alternative fuels
  • Renewable heat
  • Renewable combined heat and power
  • Energy efficient lighting
  • Energy efficient products
  • Energy monitoring, saving or control systems
  • Low carbon consultancy, advisory and offsetting services
  • Low emission vehicles and infrastructure
  • Carbon capture and storage
  • Nuclear power
  • Fuel cells and energy storage systems

You must prove that the majority of your operation falls within one of the LCREE sectors.

You will need to show how your plans fit within one or more of the following activities:

  • Research and development
  • Physical infrastructure. This includes new premises to accommodate growth or improvement to existing premises
  • Equipment and machinery

If you wish to apply for funding for outside of these activities, you must make a compelling case in your application. Make sure you explain how your proposal meets the aims of the scheme.

Section B grants

Grants of up to £5,000 to cover up to 40 percent of the costs of reducing the carbon footprint of commercial premises.

This grant is open to Sevenoaks District businesses that operate from commercial premises. While applications will be welcomed from all, the following sectors will be given priority and will receive preference if the scheme is oversubscribed:

  • Food production
  • Tourism and hospitality
  • Distribution and logistics
  • Construction
  • Independent retail

 

Conditions for grant funding

Any grant award will be subject to you securing all the necessary permissions. This could include planning, building control or environmental permissions. You must have these in place:

  • If your business is VAT registered, we will not include VAT in the eligible costs
  • We cannot award retrospective grants
  • We will not support any works that have already been undertaken or works which are started prior to a formal offer of grant funding being made.

 

This scheme is funded through the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The UKSPF is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

To learn more about how the fund is being used in Sevenoaks, visit our UK Shared Prosperity Fund page.