Decision details

Decision to award the funds to the following projects under Round Five of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (Supporting Local Business/Communities and Place) in South Holland District, as well as Round One of UKSPF People and Skills. The Awards shall be made to the following projects:
Community Transport Project
Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service (LCVS)
£24,640
This project seeks to develop and enhance community transport infrastructure across the entire SELCP area, with practical delivery taking place in East Lindsey and South Holland and learning shared with Boston Borough. It will deliver:
The creation of a SELCP Community Transport Consortium with relevant governance
80% of all local CT schemes reporting an increased number of journeys and journey types
80% of all local CT schemes taking on volunteers and retaining them for 6 months
The Digitisation of Church History
St Mary’s Church Whaplode PCC and Moulton PCC
£20,412
This project will deliver a series of digital enhancements to the Church, which will also be trialled at Moulton All Saints. This includes a 360 degree, virtual digital tour, digital interactive ‘welcome’ screens, substantial volunteer training, augmented QR tours of the Church and 3d models of both Churches using photogrammetry. This will enhance the visitor offer available and will serve as a pilot project for Churches in the see.
Active Lincolnshire – Active Communities
Active Lincolnshire
£57,447
This programme will deliver a place-based skills development programme aimed at upskilling local residents to work and/or volunteer in the sport and physical activity sector. The programme will work with partners to fund and support qualifications combined with a mentoring / work placement scheme that provides an ‘all-round’ package of support into voluntary or paid employment, to set up new SME’s or to go on to continued education in the sector. It will deliver a mixture of accredited, non-accredited and industry-recognised qualifications.
The Future of Food in the Lincolnshire Fens
The Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership
£29,276
This project focusses on bridging the gap between initiatives which currently support the development of agriculture in Lincolnshire’s Food sector and scoping pilot projects focussed on productivity, growth and sustainability. The project will be a series of five in-person workshops delivered to 25-30 attendees between March 2024 and January 2025. The outcomes of these will then be shared by online dissemination events to local businesses (20-80 beneficiaries per event). Reports and information will also be published as an online resource for local businesses via the Partnership’s website. At the workshops, participants will also be supported with technical advice related to the food sector, on topics as broad as water management, soil health and decarbonisation.
Delivering Heritage Skills in South and East Lincolnshire
Heritage Lincolnshire
£22,248
This project seeks to give residents skills and experience of traditional craft and building trades, with a view to supporting those residents to pursue a career in the heritage construction sector via a programme of ‘taster’ sessions’ and effective careers information, advice and guidance to support them in accessing provision. This will include the recruitment of a specialist heritage skills programme lead for South and East Lincolnshire with a mandate to develop a long-term action plan for the recovery.
Global Gateway - Transforming Local Talents in Global Entrepreneurs
PAB Languages
£8,343
This project aims to enhance digital and cross-cultural communication skills among local businesses and individuals in Boston, supporting management within local businesses to gain new skills that will support them in engaging with export and international markets.
Connect2GrowSteadfast Training
£140,569
Proposed project called Connect2Grow will provide an integrated skills and employment service to residents across Boston. The project aims to help individuals with health-related and other barriers to employment and skills training, consisting of a 1-2-1 In-Depth Assessment followed by personalised health and wellbeing-focused coaching and mentoring delivered by a Personal Advisor or a Community Connector. This project directly and specifically addresses a full range of UKSPF/RPF outcomes, particularly economic inactivity, unemployment and upskilling the local workforce.
Project GenZ – Improving LivesTonic Health
£31,220
Supporting a cohort of 30 young people (16-25) year olds to individuals to increase their personal confidence/soft skills and teach them a range of skills to improve employability.
This will include the provision of a guaranteed qualification at either NQF Level 1 or Level 2 for each participant in a business-related subject (accredited by Boston College).
Community-Based Digital Support Sessions
SELCP (South Holland District Council)
£19,960
The project will be delivered in partnership with SELCP’s Healthy Living and Communities teams at existing drop-ins and community hubs across all three Districts. Using local venues will enable people without transport or public transport to attend, the project will:
-Deliver community-based digital inclusion sessions hosted by established community hubs.
-Use a mix of online learning platforms and 1:1 tailored support unique to the learner.
-Assist residents to understand, access and navigate online services including but not limited to communication, health, benefits, grants, job applications, Council services.
-Help residents to access and use HMRC online services, including digital only Government services such as Self-Assessment, tax accounts and VAT.
-Ensure all participants are ‘scam aware’ so they have the confidence to get online safely.
-Offer signposting / referrals to other organisations where appropriate. For example, Carer’s First, Citizens Advice.
- Offer training and support for volunteers to become Digital Champions; with on-going support beyond the end of the project at community venues.
Higher Level Engineering Skills for South Lincolnshire’s Key Sectors
University of Lincoln (NCFM)
£61,509
This project aims to work with local employers to build engagement, shape provision, and strengthen local access to specialist higher level training in food and manufacturing engineering courses at the NCFM (NQF Levels 2-7). There will be a separate Programme focussed on supporting school-age learners and giving them experiences of the food and engineering sectors in Boston and South Holland.

As part of HMG’s Levelling Up Agenda and in line with the commitments made by Boston Borough in the UKSPF Prospectus and Investment Plan, we have committed to invest in high-impact projects across three core themes:
-Communities and place - Supporting community groups and investment in community facilities; enhancing the cultural and heritage offer; widening the use of community buildings; initiatives to help support our town centres.
-Supporting local business - Helping local businesses invest for future growth; growing the food processing, horticulture, and logistics sector; encouraging new businesses to establish; helping the local social and community enterprises to innovate and grow.
-People and skills - Developing skills and employment opportunities within the fresh food, food processing and logistics sectors; creating new training hubs; supporting local residents with skills and access to employment.
These allocations principally meet the objectives that we have committed to under the Communities and Place, People and Skills and Supporting Local Businesses Themes and with the projects passing a rigorous assessment process. We are confident that they can deliver the outcomes expected from the Programme quickly and substantively. This has been the basis of the decision.

These funds were allocated on a competitive basis, based on the fifth round of submitted Expressions of Interest and Full Applications to the UK Shared Prosperity and Rural Prosperity Fund. The alternative would be to not award the funding, which would bring severe reputational risk to the Council both with the public and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.