Cheshire East UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2025-26:
Open Call

Eligible applicants can now apply for grant funding to deliver projects funded under the Cheshire East UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) during the transition year (April 2025 to March 2026).

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be a charity, business, public sector organisation, or community group (individuals are not eligible).
• Operate within Cheshire East or have (or propose to deliver) a project that directly benefits Cheshire East area.
• Submit a fully completed proforma application document and accompanying spreadsheet with detailed scalability options (see under documents below).
• Demonstrate readiness and ability to comply with UKSPF Subsidy Control Checks at both project and beneficiary levels, among other requirements.
• Total project value must meet minimum required and not exceed the maximum required (see below)

Funding Amounts and Allocation

• Minimum grant award will be: £50,000
• Maximum grant award will be: £231,732
• Grants only (no loans or mixed funding are possible under UKSPF)
• At least one grant award will be made subject to meeting set requirements.
• On project completion, applicants must have provided full evidence of expenditure, in addition to other auditable evidence to receive the full grant amount awarded.
• At end of the project life or by end of March 2026 at the latest, any unspent funds must be returned to Cheshire East Council in accordance with UK Shared Prosperity Fund requirements.

Application and Decision Process

• This will be a single-stage application – no initial expressions of interest.
• Applications must be submitted using the official proforma document and scalability spreadsheet only.
• Submitted applications will receive email acknowledgment.
• The decision-making timeframe will depend on the number of applications received but is expected to be within three weeks.
• Notifications of final decisions will be sent via email to all applicants.
• Feedback will be offered on a one-to-one basis if needed
• External applicants will be required to sign an Offer Letter and a Grant Funding Agreement to accept the funds and the funding requirements.

Funding Priorities

Applications must align with one of the two UK Shared Prosperity Fund priorities:

• Supporting Local Businesses 
• Communities and Place

Monitoring and Reporting Requirements expected of successful projects

• Monthly progress reports are required, due by the fifth working day of the next month using a provided template.
• At end of each reporting point, applicants must supply full auditable evidence showing how the grant was spent and the benefits that will have been achieved, including financial/expenditure (submit a transactions sheet/list), outputs and outcomes verification.
• An impact assessment (i.e. evaluation report) will be submitted for each project by the end of activities or by 31 March 2026 at the latest.
• Projects must conduct Subsidy Control Checks at project and where required beneficiary levels.

Match Funding

• Match funding is not required, however applications should wherever possible demonstrate additional financial contributions.

Geographic and Sector Considerations

• Projects must be within Cheshire East but may focus on specific areas (e.g., Crewe, Macclesfield, rural communities).
• All proposals within the two UK Shared Prosperity Fund priorities will be considered except for those proposing bespoke intervention types (i.e. new intervention types that have not already been approved by UK Shared Prosperity Fund).
• No specific sector restrictions.

How and when to apply

• Application window is from 6 June 2025 to 7 July 2025
• You will need to complete our Proforma/ application form (MS Word, 171KB) and Scalability spreadsheet (MS Excel, 13KB) and submit them by email to UKSPFsubmissions@cheshireeast.gov.uk
• Submitted applications will be acknowledged, and final decisions will be communicated via email.
• All applications must be received by 12pm on Monday 7 July 2025
• Any application(s) received after the deadline will not be considered.
• Additional information – Technical Document List (PDF, 155KB) and UKSPF Outputs and Outcomes Definitions (PDF, 402KB)

Gateway Criteria

• Proposals must not duplicate existing provision and or activities of an existing project funded by Cheshire East UKSPF programme
• The project must be compliant with all criteria set out in Section 1 (Compliance Criteria) of the application form.
• The project’s activity location (capital schemes), or beneficiaries of the project (revenue schemes) must fully or in part be within the Cheshire East local authority boundary
• The project must deliver identified UKSPF outputs and outcomes by 31 March 2026
• Total funds being sought from UKSPF must be over £50,000 and below £231,732
• Must complete delivery activities by March 2026; for any capital projects delivery should complete as early as possible before end of March 2026 to allow for project closure. Capital projects that require but do not have planning permission in place are not likely to be considered because of the tight delivery timescales
• Each proposed project should have a complete financial breakdown forecast including monthly spend showing how and when the funds will be spent, and an outputs and outcomes delivery forecast showing when outputs and outcomes are expected to be delivered.  
• Applicants must give in details at least two (but not more than three) fully costed delivery options including the preferred option with relevant justification (and any assumption made).

Main assessment criteria

On passing the gateway criteria, each project will be assessed based on the following criteria:

This assessment will be guided by the following overarching framework, with the precise criteria for each assessment consideration set out in the table below: