Business Support Initiatives

Help for business

With a focus on building a stronger, more dynamic, and sustainable economy, the Economic Development team at Chelmsford City Council is committed to helping businesses leverage the wealth of resources, networks, and opportunities that Chelmsford has to offer.

Chelmsford City Council offers several initiatives to support local businesses:

Business Support Booklet

Annually a business support booklet is produced, detailing the range of support that is available to your business.

Download booklet

Economic Renewal Plan

This plan draws on the 2020 business survey and sets out a number of priorities for Chelmsford businesses.

The plans key themes are:

Business support
Promotion of Chelmsford
Skills

Download plan

Lean2Green business support (1-2-1 training)

We are working with MKR Solutions to support businesses to develop and carry out a decarbonisation plan. This will help businesses reduce their carbon footprint, increase productivity and make financial savings.

This programme gives 1-2-1 support and can help businesses from across all sectors. It focuses on the collective culture of continuous improvement to maintain and drive change in line with Net Zero goals.

To gain the most value from this programme, your businesses should be at least 18 months old.

Apply

Get Better in Chelmsford Programme

We’re excited to announce the return of the Get Better in Chelmsford programme — a free, practical workshop series designed to empower small businesses with the tools, skills and confidence to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

Now in its third series, this initiative is part-funded by the UK Government and delivered in partnership by Chelmsford City Council and local marketing specialists Better Agency. It continues to provide Chelmsford’s business community with practical, real-world knowledge designed to drive growth and success.

What's in Store

This six-part programme runs weekly from 29th May, offering hour-long sessions on Thursday mornings at Patch Chelmsford, covering key topics such as:

- Creating content that reaches all 4 corners of Google
- Building a marketing machine: enhancing AI implementation
- Pitching to win
- Understanding data in GA4 & Search Console
- Utilising direct mail marketing
- Making video work for your brand

Each session is designed to be practical, hands-on and action-oriented — ideal for sole traders, start-ups, and growing SMEs across Chelmsford.

Listen and Learn: Get Better Podcasts

As part of the Get Better in Chelmsford programme, we’ve also recorded a number of insightful podcast episodes with previous participants, guest speakers, and marketing professionals. These episodes share behind-the-scenes learnings, real success stories, and tips you can apply straight away to your own business.

Catch up on past episodes and hear how other local businesses have benefitted from getting involved.

Listen to Podcasts

Fully Funded Visit Essex Membership

Chelmsford City Council have partnered with Visit Essex to give targeted support to businesses in the visitor economy. We know that the visitor economy has been particularly hard hit over recent times. So, we are keen to work with Visit Essex and businesses to provide support in this area.

With the free Visit Essex membership, you will be able to have your own entry on www.visitessex.com with online booking facilities. Visit Essex will also include your business in relevant marketing activities and campaigns.

In addition, you can enjoy:

access to free training courses
invitations to Visit Essex events
monthly member newsletters and industry updates
access to Visit Essex’s image library for you to use freely on your website to promote what Essex has to offer

To apply for this fantastic opportunity, you need to submit an application form

Apply

Opportunities and broader support from partners and national business support organisations

Finance, loans and debt management

The Recovery Loan Scheme helps small and medium sized businesses access loans and finance to aid their recovery.

The British Business Bank has free resources around debt management, cash flow, and understanding and managing debt. If you are struggling to pay your self-assessment tax bill, HMRC is offering instalments and payment plans.

Business Debtline is a charity that provides free and independent debt advice over the phone and online. It also provides a range of debt advice factsheets on topics ranging from business debts, debt solutions to dealing with creditors.

Recruitment Support

Skills and recruitment are key issues for businesses, and we are aware that many businesses are struggling to fill vacancies in the current climate.

Find a job service is the government’s official job vacancy service, supporting employers to fill their vacancies.

The Essex Opportunities Portal offers employers a free service to recruit individuals with the necessary skills to start work immediately. This one stop shop also provides information and advice on jobs, careers, skills, and training.

Workplace Wellbeing

The Essex Wellbeing Service supports Essex businesses via their Working Well Accreditation.

This consists of:

Workplace health and wellbeing sessions
Mental Health First Aid training
The Working Well Accreditation, where organisations can be recognised for their commitment to staff health and wellbeing