Apply for a UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) grant

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is an initiative designed to accelerate the government's ambitions.

From 2025 to 2026, the UKSPF will provide funding for local investments to create positive change in communities across the country.

The UKSPF presents a significant opportunity to support disadvantaged regions, empowering them with greater access to funding and resources. With the UKSPF's support, local initiatives can flourish, forging stronger and more resilient communities, by boosting and cultivating local pride and enhancing life opportunities for all.

Medway UKSPF: our investment plan priorities

We submitted a UKSPF investment plan in 2022 that was approved by the government.

At the heart of our investment plan is our commitment to achieving the best for Medway. With our allocation of £2.4 million, we've outlined our spending priorities, crafting a roadmap for progress that aligns with aspirations of our vibrant communities and stakeholders.

Through the UKSPF, we channelled our resources into 3 key investment priorities:

• Communities and Place
• Supporting Local Business
• People and Skills.

Year 1 (2022 to 2023)

During Year 1 of the UKSPF programme, we invested £225,000 in 17 projects.

These delivered against the priorities of providing non-financial support to local businesses, and a range of projects that promoted and encouraged people to visit and explore the Medway towns.

Year 2 (2023 to 2024)

During Year 2 of the programme, over £260,000 was invested in 31 projects.

These projects were hugely successful in providing support to local community organisations and fostering stronger and more resilient communities by boosting local pride and enhancing life opportunities for all.

Year 3 (2024 to 2025)

During Year 3, we invested over £817,000 into 45 projects for Pride in Place and 10 projects for People and Skills.

Every project delivered was highly impactful to the community, increasing services to our residents, providing support to local businesses, building the capacity of our local groups, and boosting pride in place across Medway.

Year 4 (2025 to 2026)

After a successful lobby to government, UKSPF funding was extended by an additional year. The funding we received is less than UKSPF Year 3 with over 55 projects being supported but enables us to continue providing support to our local organisations and communities.

After some changes in the government’s direction of the UKSPF fund for this year the priorities for Year 4 are focused on improving our communities and place and supporting local business across Medway. We believe investing in these areas will help us achieve our goal of building pride in place and increasing life chances in Medway.

We're excited to empower local leaders and communities, whilst working together to support Medway’s wider regeneration ambition ‘Medway 2041’, government’s wider priorities, and delivering pride in place through boosting productivity, spreading opportunities, and restoring a sense of community and local pride.

For projects applying to UKSPF Year 4, all UKSPF funding must be spent by the end of March 2026.     

Medway 2041 priorities

• Destination and Placemaking: putting Medway on the map as a smart and sustainable waterfront city
• Business Accommodation and Digital Connectivity: provide the right infrastructure for business success
• Town Centres: renew, diversify, and activate our town centres
• Inward Investment: increase high-value business and expand high quality employment
• Sector Growth: enhance a strong, mixed economy
• Improving Employability: match business demand and skills supply
• Cross cutting themes include innovation, climate change and net zero, and growth for all.

Medway’s UKSPF priority themes

Our Year 4 programme identifies the following priorities and intervention themes for UKSPF applications. These have been updated slightly from previous years to reflect changes from government.

All applications must include at least one of the following numbered interventions from one of the priorities set out below to be eligible for funding.

Priority 1: Communities and Place

• Intervention 1: Delivery of new or improved physical community infrastructure
• Intervention 2: Capacity building and supporting our local groups and communities
• Intervention 3: Campaigns that encourage exploration and visits to Medway
• Intervention 4: Development of a relevant feasibility study that supports pride in place in Medway.

Priority 2: Supporting Local Business

• Intervention 5: Strengthening local entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Our approach to Year 4 UKSPF

We have 3 initiatives that are open to applications.

The Pride in Place Fund

The Pride in Place Fund is open to applicants looking to promote a rich cultural experience for residents and visitors alike, to support the social enterprise sector, and to help businesses deliver transformation in alignment with the goals and objectives of ‘Medway 2041’.

We welcome bids from organisations looking to fund a range of projects that align with our identified UKSPF priorities 1 and 2 (above) and themes, including:

• Physical community infrastructure improvements
• Capacity building and supporting local groups and communities
• Campaigns to encourage visits to the area
• Strengthening local entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Find out more and apply for the Pride in Place Fund.

The Feasibility Fund

The Feasibility Fund will provide funding for feasibility studies to support initial concept and business plan development: seed funding to help get project ideas off the ground.

This fund could help to unlock projects capable of securing further public and private investment in the longer-term. We see this fund as an important way of supporting the development of impactful projects and concepts that could catalyse longer-term change.

The Feasibility Fund is intended to support projects that could deliver outcomes across investment priorities 1 and 2 (above).

This fund is specifically designed to deliver on the ambitions and objectives set out in Medway Council’s regeneration strategy ‘Medway 2041’ and the UKSPF ambitions.

Find out more and apply for the Feasibility Fund.

The Summer Events Fund

The Summer Events Fund is open to applicants who are seeking funding to hold a large-scale summer event, with the intention of fostering pride in place in our community and encouraging people to explore and visit Medway.

All projects must be aligned with Intervention 3 - Development of campaigns to encourage visits to our local area.

A large-scale summer event is any event:

• taking place between June and August 2025
• with a minimum of 500 attendees.

Find out more and apply for the Summer Events Fund.

Additional information

Email medwayUKSPF@medway.gov.uk if you have any queries surrounding what fund is most suitable for your project.