Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council

Tourism & Hospitality Support Grant

With tourism and hospitality being among the hardest hit sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that business owners of SMEs (under 50 employees) and micro-enterprises have access to the local support, which will assist them when planning a route through the post-Covid landscape.

In response to this, the council are offering a new Tourism & Hospitality Support Grant of up to £2,500 to help businesses in these sectors.

The grant is an opportunity to access a bespoke package of financial support  to help businesses with funding towards a viable project at a time when financial assistance is needed to recover or operate in the future, to help protect jobs, prevent closure and promote economic recovery.

Key Dates:

• Programme launch - Friday 18 December 2020
• Acceptance of  application forms - Tuesday 5 January 2021      
• Application form acceptance closes - Friday 26 February 2021      
• Programme closes - Friday 19 March 2021

For full details please download the guidance notes and application form from the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council website.

Ards and North Down Borough Council   

Shine Programme

If you employ less than 50 employees and are wishing to expand and grow your business, you are eligible for hands on specialist business support, delivered virtually or onsite when required, in a range of areas       including recruitment, selling skills and social media. The programme is       free and is currently open for applications.

For more information, visit the Ards & North Down Borough Council website.

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council & Mid and East Antrim Borough Council

Calling all Artisans

Following on from the successful Northern Periphery Programme projects entitled “Économusée Northern Europe”, “Économusée International” and “Économusée Craft Reach”, which saw the development and launch of ten Économusée workshops in the Causeway Coast & Glens and Mid & East Antrim Borough Council areas, Causeway Coast & Glens Heritage Trust (CCGHT) wants to hear from artisans located within these areas who are keen to join the Économusée Network.

The CCGHT aim to develop a new Économusée workshop by March 2021, which will in turn help create socio-economic opportunities in rural communities and create new and enhanced tourism, visitor, employment, and business development opportunities.
 
The Économusée concept is a Québec inspired tourism initiative that enables visitors to watch the artisan at work whilst offering them the opportunity to discover the beautiful and indigenous crafts that are all produced onsite, learning about the history of the craft and the cultural heritage behind the skill.

You will find more information about the Économusée concept and the International members on www.economusees.com

To obtain an application pack including criteria please email tierna@ccght.org

Applications should be submitted by post to CCGHT 27 Main Street Armoy, Ballymoney BT53 8SL or emailed to tierna@ccght.org before 4pm on Friday 15th January 2021.