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Green BELLE is now closed. Green BELLE supported SMEs in Leicester and Leicestershire to increase their energy efficiency, reduce their energy costs and lower their carbon emissions. Grants of £1,000 to £10,000 were available.

About Green BELLE

Green BELLE is now closed – For more information, visit: https://www.greenbelle.org.uk/apply/

Green BELLE’s final Summative Assessment report can be downloaded from the following link:
Green BELLE summative assessment report [pdf – 27.90 Mb]

Green BELLE offered grants from £1,000 to £10,000 to eligible SMEs in Leicester and Leicestershire towards the cost of energy efficiency measures. Phase 1 of Green BELLE ran from 2017 to 2019, and Phase 2 ran from 2020 to June 2023.

Green BELLE supported Small or Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Leicester and Leicestershire to increase their energy efficiency, reduce their energy costs and lower their carbon emissions. Grants of £1,000 to £10,000 were available to support the installation of low carbon and energy efficient technologies in local SMEs.

Proposed measures needed to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency.

Potential eligible measures:

  • Energy efficient heating systems and controls, e.g. boiler replacements and heat pumps  
  • Low energy lighting replacements (LEDs) and controls
  • Renewable energy systems – e.g. biomass, solar panels
  • Innovative low carbon measures, such as heat recovery systems
  • Replacement Energy Efficient Machinery – e.g. Air Compressors
  • Insulation
  • Building Energy Management Systems

This is not necessarily a full list, and the Green BELLE Grant Panel also considered other measures that could be shown to save energy and reduce carbon emissions. Green BELLE also supported multiple energy efficiency measures, up to the maximum grant amount. Please also see the Potential Measures page.

Participating SMEs received a site visit, carried out by a dedicated Project Officer. The visit was used to discuss the best energy efficiency options for their premises.

SMEs could apply for a grant of £1,000 to £10,000, at 50% of the total project cost. The remaining contribution was required as match funding from the SME.

Any additional cost above this grant maximum (i.e. above a total cost of £20,000) also needed to be paid for by the SME. Note that a minimum grant amount of £1,000 also applied, so the minimum total cost of the measures, with the SME’s match funding, was £2,000.

Green BELLE was run by the Leicester City Council’s Energy Projects Team. The project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Leicester City Council.

Green BELLE aimed to:

  • Support businesses with a grant
  • Achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from businesses

Green BELLE (Green Business Energy in Leicester and Leicestershire) ran for approximately six years and will finished in June 2023. However, funding was fully allocated before this date.

Please note that all grant applications were subject to approval by the Green BELLE Grant Panel, and that Green BELLE was not able to provide grants towards measures that had already been purchased or installed, or where the installation had already been started.

Green BELLE was also unable to provide grants to SMEs that had already received a Green BELLE grant previously.  

For more information on eligibility, see eligibility criteria

Green BELLE

Below you can find a short summary of the Green BELLE grant process. Click on the boxes for more information.

  • SMEs submit an Expression of Interest
    • Submitting an Expression of Interest form, from the Apply Now page, is the first step in applying for a grant. 
    • The Expression of Interest form will ask you for some basic details about your business and proposed energy efficiency measures, including an eligibility check. See the Is your business eligible? page for more information on eligibility.
    • Once submitted, your Expression of Interest form will be reviewed by a Green BELLE Project Officer. This Project Officer will then contact you to let you know if your SME and proposed measures meet the Green BELLE eligibility criteria. If so, the Project Officer will arrange a site visit with you to visit you at your SME’s premises where you intend to have the energy efficiency measures installed.
    • To submit an Expression of Interest, fill in and submit the form on the Apply Now page.
    • Please also note that all grant applications are subject to approval by the Green BELLE Grant Panel. 
    • Green BELLE is not able to provide grants towards measures that have already been purchased or installed, or where the installation has already been started. We are also unable to provide grants to SMEs that have already received a Green BELLE grant previously.  
  • Project Officer carries out site visit

    • The visit can be carried out at a time of your choosing, and will take between 30 minutes and 1 hour. The Project Officer will talk you through the Green BELLE grant process in more detail, and will look at where the energy-efficiency measure or measures are to be installed, making some notes and taking photos of the existing installations, if necessary. The Project Officer might also make recommendations for additional measures you may wish to apply for grant funding to implement.

  • If Expression of Interest is approved, SME can submit a Full Application

    • The Full Application asks for more details about your business and the premises you are planning to install a measure in. 

    • You will also need to supply three comparable quotations for each different measure you are applying for.

    • Depending on the measures you intend to install, you might also be asked by the Project Officer to submit 12 months of energy bills along with your application.
  • Grant panel assesses the application; if successful a grant agreement is signed by SME and Leicester City Council

    • The panel will state which provider has been chosen to carry out the works. It is vital that you do not begin work until the agreement has been signed.

  • SME organises the work with the provider

    • Once the Grant Agreement has been signed by both the SME and Leicester City Council, confirmation will be given to the SME that the works can begin. It is the responsibility of the SME to arrange with the chosen provider for the works to be carried out.

  • On completion of installation, SME pays the provider’s invoice

    • It is the responsibility of the SME to check that the work has been carried out to a satisfactory standard before paying the provider’s invoice.

  • Once SME submits the required evidence of installation, Leicester City Council pays the grant amount to SME

    • A Project Officer will inform the SME of the evidence required, including evidence of payment and confirmation that installation has been completed. Leicester City Council will pay the grant within 30 days after confirmation is received.

    • The Project Officer will the advise the SME if a further 12-months of energy bills will be required in order to calculate the carbon savings from the measures, although this is not always necessary depending on the type of measures installed.

     

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  • If you have any specific questions you can’t find the answer to on this website, please get in touch using the contact form or our contact details on the Contact Us page, and we’ll be happy to answer them.

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Green BELLE
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