Wyre Forest District Council Community Renewal Fund Programme

Wyre Forest was identified by the government as one of the “100 priority places” and is responsible for leading on one Community Renewal Fund (CRF) project, the BetaDen North Cleantech Bootcamp, which received £522,750. This project is an industry-first, which aims to help businesses develop knowledge, insight and best practice in innovative and low-carbon solutions to the environmental challenges facing industries around the world.

The project has been led by North Worcestershire Economic Development and Regeneration, a shared service for the three North Worcestershire districts which is hosted by Wyre Forest District Council.

Wyre Forest District Council’s CRF proposal was a collaborative effort that involved a variety of different stakeholders. The council was encouraged to partner with the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP) to work on different aspects of the bid. They formed a project team to develop the proposal, and WLEP worked with an external consultant to support the bid. Throughout the process, they held weekly meetings to share ideas. The council team also drew on elected member and senior officer experience and local priorities in the decision-making process as they regularly do with other successful funds in their portfolio.

The council approached the development of their project by considering their pipeline of existing activity and desire to deliver more local outcomes and transformation on the ground. Worcestershire is gradually building a reputation as one of the fastest growing economies in the UK, home to more than 17,500 cyber and digital companies. Wyre Forest District Council therefore chose to position their bid alongside existing activity by replicating with Betaden, a “tech accelerator”, and launchpad for tech businesses. They are also taking a strategic approach to engage with the wider sector and embed activity across the LEP area. Working with private sector organisations will enable them to bridge the funding gap and feel a steadier cash flow from existing operations.

Lessons learned from the process

Wyre Forest District Council felt that there was a balance to strike between local priorities and the CRF criteria but in order to strengthen their application, they cross-examined the national guidance and the fund’s objectives/eligibility criteria. As a result, their project aligned well with their green economy priorities and the net-zero agenda, whilst also bringing in elements of business support and digital progression. The CRF project will function as a pilot to understand whether there is a demand for this kind of project.

The council is also taking a strategic approach to engage with the wider sector and embed activity across the LEP area. Engaging with the private sector in such short timescales has been challenging as COVID has caused greater stress on businesses. Previously they have obtained capital funding, and their pipeline was used to define capital proposals, so the next question locally is how to use the UKSPF opportunities using mainly revenue funding.

Currently there is a limit to the ability to maximise the use of various government funding programmes to deliver interventions and achieve the greatest possible transformation on the ground. The council aimed to streamline their CRF funding with the creative hub in Kidderminster to make a greater impact and explore the potential to locate a BetaDen there. While the time constraints of the project haven’t enabled this, they believe there is an opportunity to develop greater synergy between each individual initiative, so organisations are better supported to deliver a legacy within communities.

BetaDen North Cleantech Bootcamp, is divided into two stages. The first stage saw the delivery of four workshops which were used to assist in the recruitment of companies for the Bootcamp. The Bootcamp itself was set to run in mid-April. The workshops encouraged the use of digital technologies to support the decarbonisation agenda and the CEO of Worcester Bosch attended one to speak about green technology. The workshops had good attendance but one of the key barriers to attendance reported by businesses was a lack of capacity in this time of economic recovery.

Wyre Forest has had regular contact with Worcestershire County Council, as lead authority as well as regular catch ups with the area lead for the Communities and Local Growth Unit where they discuss key issues.

Lessons learned from the process

There have been several issues with the funding agreements despite the projects only being funded for a 6-month period. However, so far contractual outputs have been quite light as the project has a straightforward delivery profile. There has been a challenge around delivery due to short timeframes and in-house capacity. There is a lot of pressure on project deliverers which can have an impact on capacity and the strength of stakeholder relationships. These deadlines may also have meant that some businesses have missed out on an opportunity because of the limited lead in time.

Due to capacity, Wyre Forest District Council appointed an external company to do the project management and communications. They are also working with an external expert in the field to market the Bootcamp and recruit eight companies as they found it difficult to engage directly. They have also appointed an evaluation consultancy, who are already involved in the Betaden project so will be able to link closely across the two projects.

Wyre Forest District Council is interested in sharing lessons through the CRF process. They are using existing processes and links that are already in place with another council delivering on the Future High Streets Fund. This relationship is enabling both councils to exchange advice and learn over the two years. 

Wyre Forest District Council has started to think about outcomes for future funding opportunities which meet their local place priorities. Ideally, the council would have flexibility across a range of funding including Levelling Up funds, Future High Street funds, Towns Fund and UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This would support working on a larger geographical footing across the three Worcestershire authorities linking projects such as the digital manufacturing and innovation centre. Most of these projects require capital funding but will need a revenue stream to deliver successfully.

• Upon wider reflection, Wyre Forest District Council is keen to build in-house capacity in preparation for future opportunities. They acknowledged that employing consultants to assist in bid writing is a short-term answer and there is no long-term knowledge transfer.
• Wyre Forest had a good team but, in the past, there have been external funding teams in place for such work and the tight timeframe meant there was a struggle to formulate a proposal that met all of their priorities.
• Project approval by the Government also took a long time which mean that the delivery timescale is also restrictive.
• Having a strong evidence base and visibility will be key for similar projects or funding streams in the future.
• Wyre Forest District Council wanted to strengthen their relationship with business whilst positioning themselves as proactive in their support to businesses in the local area.
• The original concept for the project was to link with the creative hub in Kidderminster as part of the High Street Fund, so they are keen to develop a pathway to moving into the hub post-Bootcamp.