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June 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter for local businesses in Swale.

This edition includes update on:

• having your say on planning issues
• research and development funding available for farms
• the latest developments in the Sheerness Revival project
• support for SME manufacturing with Made Smarter South East 
• online support for the early stages of managing a food business
• finding job-ready staff with the Hospitality Skills Passport
• attending the Medway & Swale Social Regeneration Conference

Have your say on our draft statement of community involvement

We want to hear about how you want to be involved in local planning issues.

Planning decisions shape where we work, live, visit, or even just pass through.

We have drafted a document - the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) - that sets out how we plan to consult people on future planning decisions.

The draft SCI aims to involve people early, and throughout the planning process, to help strengthen both the plan making and development management processes and encourage local engagement.

If you can, please read the draft statement, and have your say by 5pm on 2 July.

Work on Beachfields begins!

Construction work to renovate and expand the healthy living centre in Beachfields is now underway as part of our Sheerness Revival project.

A groundbreaking event marked the start of the construction phase of the council’s £14 million regeneration project, part of the £20 million funding received from the UK Government.

Help to grow your business 

The Made Smarter Adoption Programme makes it easier for makers, creators and manufacturers to innovate, upskill and grow their business by adopting industrial digital technologies.

There's also training for your staff, match-funded grants for hardware or software, and leadership development support.

Farming Futures R&D Fund: low emissions farming

There's up to £12.5 million available to UK registered organisations for industrial research projects that support farming to move towards lower emissions.

The Farming Futures R&D Fund, a part of the Farming Innovation Programme, is a competition is to fund collaborative projects that will develop new low emissions solutions which address major on-farm, or immediate post farmgate, challenges or opportunities.

Projects in this competition must:

• develop ambitious solutions that will reduce emissions in existing farming practices
• carry out a life cycle assessment for the solution developed
• demonstrate impact and measure of carbon as a number to facilitate foot printing and potential trading, but other emissions must not be ignored
• demonstrate and measure wider environmental benefits, as contributors to low emission farming
• encourage dissemination and knowledge exchange to the wider sector and increase the maturity or market readiness of emerging solutions
• ensure concepts are closely aligned with industry priorities to deliver business orientated, transformative opportunities.

The competition closes at 11am on Wednesday 25 June.

Concept to cash: Managing the early stages of food business development (9:30-10:30 24 June 2025)

Growing Kent and Medway are hosting a webinar at 9:30am on the 24 June about managing the early stages of food business development. In this webinar, business consultant Roger Williams, of Intelligent Linking Consulting, will introduce you to the 4Ps of Purpose, People, Proposition and Process. The 4Ps will help you uncover the priorities for your business.

Find job-ready staff with the new Hospitality Skills Passport

The Hospitality Skills Passport connects employers with job-ready individuals who have been trained in essential hospitality skills, giving your business access to motivated new recruits who are prepared and eager to work. The passport has been developed by UKHospitality, to make sure participants receive practical training as well as key certifications in food hygiene, health and safety, and licensing. Why should my business get involved? It’s a free recruitment tool - if you have a vacancy that needs filling, Jobcentre Plus will find suitable job seekers to undertake the industry specific training programme. It’s a collaborative programme - work with local further education colleges and Jobcentre Plus to both train and recruit from within your local community. Be part of strengthening the industry - the comprehensive training programme creates a standard baseline of the essential knowledge, skills and behaviours. It can be used at every level of the sector, from new starters to experienced staff, and will further professionalise training and development in hospitality.

9am-4pm Tuesday 8 July, MidKent College Gillingham Campus Over the past year, Medway and Swale social regeneration has fostered meaningful change, bringing together businesses, Voluntary, Community, Social Enterprise and Faith Sector organisations and key stakeholders to empower our local communities and drive long-lasting resilience. This special event will be both a celebration of their collective achievements since the programme’s launch in 2024 and an opportunity to explore the next steps in building sustainable commercial partnerships. The event is invite-only, so if you are interested please contact Georgia Moss to be considered for a place.