Denbighshire businesses urged to bid for share of £1m fund
This follows an initial £1.3 million fund that helped almost 100 companies across the county.
Grants of up to £35,000 are available, with a closing date for applications of Thursday, July 31.Right, Pharmacist Ravi Kiran Palutla - recipient of a Cadwyn Clwyd grant is pictured with Donna Hughes from Cadwyn Clwyd (Image: Supplied)
Further smaller grants of up to £2,000 are also on offer.
The first round of funding had some remarkable success stories, including a 150-year-old village chemist shop in Dyserth that was saved thanks to the financial boost.
Solution pharmacist Ravi Kiran Palutla received a grant of just £1,897 to update the website and install a computerised booking system at the Dyserth Pharmacy when he took over in 2023.
Mr Palutla said: "A grant of just £1,897 enabled me to update the website to make it more functional and install a computerised booking system, and the difference it has made has been amazing."
This system has driven customer numbers up by 44 per cent, with appointments soaring from 20 a month to 300.
The system allows for online booking of in-person consultations, allowing for prescriptions, treatments, or referrals to be administered promptly, thus reducing the long waits people often experience at Wales's GP surgeries.
Mr Palutla said: "The population of the Dyserth area is about 2,000, and for me to have a viable business, I need a patient base of 4,000 plus, and the computerised system has allowed me to build that."
Cadwyn Clwyd business partnership officer Donna Hughes said: "It is remarkable the difference it has made to Ravi's business and to access to healthcare in North Denbighshire.
"He was in the first phase of the Prosperous Denbighshire rollout, which can pay up to 70 per cent of the value of a project, to a maximum of £35,000 of a £50,000 scheme."
"The success of what Ravi has done just shows that this kind of funding can do wonders for a business."
The fund comes from the Shared Prosperity Fund, administered by the UK Government, which announced a further £900 million of funding for local investment in the Autumn Budget to be allocated by March 2026.
Cadwyn Clwyd is expecting a similarly high level of interest in the second round of funding, given its success in the first phase.
The funding is intended to support people in the area in building businesses, bringing benefits to the individuals and the wider community.
Ms Hughes said: "The first phase proved hugely popular which was shown by the number of grants we were able to make and it also shows the need and the effectiveness of this kind of support for local people to build businesses with all the benefits that has for them and the communities in which they live."
For more information on the fund, interested parties can contact Donna Hughes at Cadwyn Clwyd on 01490 340500, email donna.hughes@cadwynclwyd.co.uk, or visit the Cadwyn Clwyd website.
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