The new grant to support city and town centre ‘High Street’ businesses in the daytime and night-time economy was launched last month.

An initial £400,000 was available and this has now been increased to £650,000 - aimed at supporting small and independent retailers and businesses in the city centre, Bilston, Wednesfield and other high street areas.

The grants are designed to help them improve the visual appearance, safety and customer service experience at their premises to boost local spend and economic benefit.

It also builds on the significant multi-million-pound investment being made in the regeneration of Wolverhampton’s urban centres such as £19million city centre public realm improvements on Lichfield Street, Queen Square and Darlington Street; more than £8million in the redevelopment of Bilston Market; and £3.3million to improve Wednesfield High Street.

Businesses can apply for a maximum of £5,000 across one or maximum two of the following 3 categories: Frontage improvements, interior and external refurbishments, and digital, marketing and security (there is a £3,000 cap on the frontage improvements category, and the interior and external refurbishments category; and a £2,000 cap in the digital, marketing and security category). Businesses must also evidence and provide match funding of at least 20% of the total cost of their project.

Full details of grant eligibility criteria and how to apply are available at: www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/business/employersupport/vibrant-high-street-grants

Grant applications will be considered as they are received, with the call for applications closing once all funds are awarded.

Councillor Chris Burden, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, said: “We’re eager to support as many of our businesses as we can through this grant scheme and build on the major investment currently being delivered across our urban centres.

“This further support for our ‘High Street’ retailers and businesses gives them the opportunity to secure funding that will enable them to thrive, support jobs and boost the local economy.

“Demand is high for these grants, and applications will close once all the funding has been allocated, so I would urge businesses to submit a grant application as soon as possible.”

Applications for the grants are on a competitive basis, subject to availability of funds, and distributed at the discretion of the council. Due to the large volume of applications received so far, additional time will be needed to process them.

If you need help with your grant application or have a general query, you can get in touch by emailing business.development@wolverhampton.gov.uk or calling the business support phone line on 01902 555572 between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Thursday or from 9am to 4.30pm on Fridays.