The St Ives Enterprise Grant Scheme reached its final stage at the end of June. Aimed at boosting the local economy and supporting sustainable regeneration, the Town Deal funded scheme has created 38 new permanent jobs and safeguarded a further 10 as well as improving, renovating or repurposing over 1,400sqm of enterprise space.
Launched in 2022, the scheme has awarded £1,637,342.70 to 67 projects with a combined total value of £2,730,345.17. Open to all small and medium sized businesses in the St Ives Town Deal area, the grants were available to both existing businesses and start-up businesses to submit bids during each of the three rounds of the scheme. All projects are now financially complete.
From providing grants for improving shopfronts in the town centre, creating new workspaces and renovating derelict buildings, to helping existing local creative, digital, construction, trade and manufacturing companies to expand or diversify the services they offer, or funding premises for new start-ups, the scheme has played a key role in supporting local businesses and organisations.
In a recent evaluation more than 75% of businesses benefitting from the scheme reported that their grant had resulted in increased patronage at the business, with 77% stating that the grant funding had a very positive or positive impact on making businesses more resilient and diversifying their income streams and 62% of businesses citing a positive or very positive impact on their business profitability.
“Our aim was to support and broaden the economic base of the town and create a really vibrant and active economy which supports all year-round businesses and provides all year-round employment” said Andrew Baragwanath, Chair of the St Ives Town Deal Board.
“We know that small and medium sized businesses make up a large proportion of our enterprises. By helping them to become more productive and plan for the future, we have made a real difference to our economy and the lives of everyone who lives and works here”.
Helping businesses to grow.
Among the local businesses receiving a grant is Mine Brewery Limited. Launched in 2019 when Elise, her husband and her parents invested in a shipping container and a 100-litre brewing kit, and met keen home brewer Andre, the brewery is now a successful business which is bridging the gap between the big, hoppy beers of the US, and traditional ales.
“It was started on a bit of a whim, but once we’d started we knew we wanted to scale up and create a viable business from what started as a hobby “ said Elise. “We named our business Mine Brewery Company, and found a bigger, secondhand kit. We needed somewhere to house it, so we put in an application for a grant to convert an old building owned by my dad.”
The Enterprise Grant Scheme funded a timber frame build inside the existing building. The new location sits on top of St Ives’ consolidated mine network, which not only inspired the name of the brewery, but also the three beer it produces.
Now established in its new location, Mine Brewing Co. brews off a 2500 litre kit, selling direct to local retailers and hospitality venues, delivered by an electric van also supported through the Enterprise Grant Scheme.
“Thanks to the Enterprise Grant Scheme, we’re now in a position where we can approach businesses outside of St Ives – off licenses, pubs and bars. We have the stock to be able to deliver to a much wider audience “ said Elise. “We’re also getting to a point where we will have to start thinking about employing people – this is a side hustle for the five directors, but it’s becoming a mega side hustle! We would love to offer employment to local people, that would be a fantastic development.”
You can watch a short video about the business here :
Space to grow – supporting St Ives next generation of fishermen
After taking up the opportunity of being a full-time skipper on the town’s second-largest fishing boat last year, St Ives fisherman Aiden found himself with nowhere to store his fishing gear.
“I’ve always had to be very organised and stick to routine, allocating time to bring everything down, take it back up again, and repair nets elsewhere. It takes up a lot of my day and means I can’t be flexible” he said.
Many of the town’s fishermen operate out of net lofts in the old pilchard cellars on Porthmeor. Here, they can store their fishing gear all year round, and there’s enough space to repair nets.
“With all the pens occupied, I have never had the option of taking one on, but I did make it known that this would be something I would be very interested in, should the opportunity arise. I knew it would just make life so much easier day to day.”
One of the cellars had been left vacant to allow visitors to view an original pilchard cellar, complete with cobbled stone floor. When the Enterprise Grant Scheme fund launched in St Ives, Chris Hibbert, Manager, Borlase Smart John Wells Trust, saw an opportunity.
“We’ve known for a while that there was demand for more workspace from our fishermen, but space in St Ives is in very short supply. Converting the old pilchard cellar was the obvious next step to support the next generation of fishermen, but it wasn’t commercially viable enough for us to fund it. When the Enterprise Grant Scheme was introduced to the town, we saw it as a fantastic opportunity to support this particular young fisherman.”
Aiden is delighted with his new workspace. “Now, I’ve got a workspace and storage space to make nets, maintain my gear, and store it all. It means that everything I need is under one roof, right where I need it to be. I can pop down, repair a few nets, and come and go as I please. Most importantly – it’s dry and warm!”
You can watch a video about this project here
Edward Hain – a thriving community hub
When the NHS left the Edward Hain building, the wards were left almost untouched; sinks, curtains, signage, and even the iconic NHS green paint remained in place. Purchased by the community for £1.2 million, the building carried a large mortgage, leaving little for renovation.
“It was very overwhelming – there was a lot of work that needed doing to bring things up to scratch” said Centre Manager Sharron Goldingay. “ The lift needed a major part, and the fire exit wasn’t wide enough to comply with the latest regulations. Those things needed remedying before we could open the top floor.”
Support from the Enterprise Grant Scheme provided the vital funds to refurbish the ground floor, bringing it up to standard. This enabled the Centre to host clinics, counselling sessions, and a wide range of community activities.
“We refurbished the bay windows at the front of the building so we could let in fresh air, and we carried out works on the roof. The grant gave us the crucial funds needed to welcome people through the doors. It meant we could start generating income and begin moving towards self-sufficiency.”
Today, the Centre welcomes almost 1,000 visitors each month. Its programme includes pilates, chair yoga, knitting clubs, and more. It also offers rooms for hire, and long-term rentals for health and wellbeing businesses. In 2024, the Centre offered St Ives Food Bank permanent residency.
“Thanks to the Enterprise Grant Scheme, we were able to open our doors and spread the word about this fantastic new resource” said Sharon. “We now provide several rooms at no cost to community organisations that offer free activities, this cost is offset by renting rooms to small businesses. This grant has made a direct and lasting difference. It really was the key cog that got everything moving.
You can watch a video about this project here
Building a sustainable St Ives
Will Besant has worked in St Ives’ hospitality for many years. He has seen how extreme seasonality affects the town’s young people. Combining his love of fashion with his passion for the place he calls home, he has created a business that benefits both the community and the environment.
Will takes raw food waste – such as peelings and stalks – from St Ives’ hospitality businesses and turns it into clothing dyes. Working with high-quality, plain white organic cotton garments Will creates sustainable, high-end pieces. The company partners with local hospitality businesses like chefs, restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, giving them boxes for their food waste. That waste is collected on E-bikes, so we have a zero-carbon delivery system.
“One in four people in St Ives work in hospitality, many of whom will have zero-hour contracts. Quiet winter months can greatly affect people’s lives. For our youth, long-term job options in town are very limited. When you have an economy that is based on tourism, you create a lot of waste. I wanted to start a business that tackles tourism’s environmental impact. It should also offer year-round jobs with fair wages for the town’s youth. My plan was to create a model whereby employees can invest in the company and enjoy a share in the profits.”
The Enterprise Grant Scheme, which funded everything for the dyeing establishment, has enabled Will to quickly scale his operations. He now has plans to expand the business further by creating furniture from the town’s plastic waste and is keen to take a leading role in identifying ways to make coastal, tourism-driven economies more sustainable.
“As we grow, we really want Pandemonium Projects to become a legacy company for St Ives, run by young people in the community” he said.
“ The plan for the brand as a whole is to address the issue that affects coastal communities, which rely heavily on tourism and generate significant waste. That problem exists, not only nationally, but internationally.”
You can watch a video about the project here
The project has also played a key role in securing the future of three heritage buildings in the town which have been successfully renovated. One of these is the former HSBC building which is now providing a new chapter in St Ives thriving arts scene.
After lying empty since the pandemic, eighteen months ago Cornish Masters moved in and redeveloped the ground floor, creating a vibrant art gallery that showcases the town’s rich history of art.
“We specialise in historic art “ said Mark Wilson, Director of Cornish Masters. “We wanted to create a gallery more akin to the model seen in London, where galleries tend to specialise in a period – late Victorian or 20th Century Modern British, for example. But Cornish Masters isn’t defined by a single period of art history; instead, we concentrate on a geography. One of the wonderful things about Cornwall is that it has been at the cutting edge of the British art scene at least twice.
“We’re trying to emulate a London gallery, but based in St Ives and Cornwall, where the schools of art that we specialise in were born and evolved.” The Enterprise Grant Scheme helped Cornish Masters with the second development stage.
This stage aims to make the 115-year-old building more sustainable for the future.
“It’s an old building, so there was significant water ingress into the basement that required an engineered solution to the problem. The grant has enabled the development of the building to create storage and events space, which enables the gallery to host talks by artists and historians. It also covered new storage for paintings, WCs, and a small kitchen from which event catering can be provided. The work we’re carrying out with the support of the scheme will enable us to confidently employ two more people.
“To me, one of the main benefits is that the building will remain good for another 100 years or so. It is a beautiful Cornish granite landmark building on St Ives’ High Street. Without the investment and renovation, it would have continued to deteriorate.”
A full list of projects supported can be found here
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