Devon’s economy given wide ranging support from recovery funding

The full impact that funding support has had in helping the county’s economy to recover from the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic has been revealed.

Thousands of people and businesses benefited from a range of projects funded by the economic support that Devon County Council provided through the pandemic and beyond.

An investment of £4.5 million was provided by the Council towards Team Devon’s Recovery Fund as well as £8.6 million of Community Renewal Funding awarded to Devon in 2021/22 by the UK Government.

Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills, said:

“These sources of funding have had a positive and wide-ranging impact on jobs and businesses in the county. Of course, a lot of sectors were badly hit during the pandemic and in some cases the recovery has been slower than anyone would have liked. However, our funding support has helped people to learn new skills or re-train, change career path or progress with their current employer, and businesses have grown and become more resilient thanks to this vital support.

Devon’s Recovery Funding

From March 2021 to March 2023 Devon’s Recovery Fund focused on long-term recovery through 22 projects. The £4.5 million investment helped to:

• Support more than 2,200 businesses to adopt digital solutions, improve their business practices, incorporate green innovation or start-up;
• Create 94 new jobs​;
• Provide employment support to more than 1,400 people​ and support over 2,300 training places​;
• Plant 14,000 trees​ and support over 300 farms to become more resilient;

Community Renewal Fund

The funding awarded to Devon County Council through the UK Government’s Community Renewal Fund supported 13 innovative projects across Devon for six months. Some of their achievements were:

• More than 450 people went into education or training, while over 650 people gained a qualification and more than 55 gained employment;​
• More than 3,600 people were engaged in life skill support;​
• Over 540 businesses introduced new products;
• An estimated four tonnes of carbon were avoided as a result of support;
• More than £610,000 of additional investment was attracted as a result of support.