Andover Town Centre Frontage Grant

The Andover Shop and High St Frontage Grant was developed by Test Valley Borough in collaboration with Andover Town Council and the Andover BID. The grant scheme is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund* 

The grants complement the regeneration projects underway in Andover town centre, providing existing and new businesses and landlords within the town centre with the opportunity to improve their premises.

High quality and well-maintained buildings make an area feel more welcoming to local residents and visitors, improve the area’s image, contribute towards a stronger sense of identity, and encourage higher footfall. These grants can provide a one-off contribution to costs, in recognition of the fact that businesses in well-maintained properties make a significant impact on the appearance and vibrancy of the high street and town centre. The grants are not for urgent works required to ensure that town centre buildings are safe, but to part-fund those small-scale projects that improve their appearance. These could include signage and lighting as well as repairs that improve the appearance of the building. Note that the on-going responsibility for maintenance and repair of shop fronts and frontages remains with landlords and occupiers, according to the terms of their agreements.

*The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus

The grants are applicable to you if you are a landlord or occupier who is seeking to improve the shop front or frontage of a commercial premises in Andover in the Lower or Upper High St, Bridge St, Bridge St Mall, London St, Marlborough St, Winchester St, East St, Chantry St, Union St, Black Swan Yard, George Yard, Newbury St, Shaws Walk, Swan Court, or Waterloo Court. They are not applicable to premises within the Chantry Centre. They cannot be applied retrospectively to work already underway or completed, or to work that is required under an enforcement order*

To apply, you must:

• be trading at the time of application;
• have a business rates account with Test Valley Borough Council;
• have all trading licences in place that are relevant to your business. For example, hospitality businesses must be registered as a food business with Test Valley Borough Council;
• have a UK business bank account;
• have relevant and valid insurances in place such as public, employer and product liability insurance.

We cannot fund the following:

• work done after 20 March 2026;
• projects for which any necessary consents have not been secured at the time the work is done;
• applicants who are in arrears for business rates with Test Valley Borough Council;
• businesses who are subject to any enforcement order for a breach of planning regulations;
• businesses for whom receipt of the requested grant from the Council will exceed the Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA) threshold for the business as specified in section 36(1) of the Subsidy Control Act (2022). The total amount of 'Minimum Financial Assistance' (MFA) received over a rolling period of three fiscal years should not exceed £315,000 per business including the total amount of MFA received over the relevant period of three fiscal years across all businesses at company group level (including the grant you are applying for).

Please note that the grants are discretionary, available for a limited period of time, and subject to the availability of funds. Being an eligible business does not give you any automatic entitlement to a grant.

*For example, Planning Enforcement (remedying breaches of planning control), Urgent Works Notices (Section 54 of the Town and Country Planning Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Act, 1990), Orders under Sections 77 and 78 of the Building Act 1984.

You will benefit from an improved premises and therefore are expected to contribute to the works.

It is recognised that repairs or improvements to signage for listed buildings* may carry greater costs associated with the need to use appropriate materials or bespoke designs. Therefore, you can apply for a higher amount of grant funding for these building types.

The maximum grant size for non-listed buildings is £10,000. The maximum grant for listed buildings is £12,500. Most applicants will be expected to contribute a minimum of 25% total project costs. However, if you are entitled to small business rates relief or charitable rate relief, you will be expected to contribute only 10% total project costs.

The following table gives examples of different project sizes and the match funding requirements. If you are unsure of the match funding for your project, we can discuss that with you.

*If you believe that your building is a non-designated heritage asset, our conservation officer will discuss with you whether the higher maximum grant would apply, using criteria set out by Historic England in Local Heritage Listing: Identifying and Conserving Local Heritage

The following types of works will generally be eligible for funding, subject to consents where relevant. The following list gives examples of eligible works but is not exhaustive:

• new shop fronts;
• repair and reinstatement of all or any part of a shop front fixture that is visible from the street, including upper floors of the premises; 
• repainting of shop fronts or of building facades in suitable colours;
• replacement of windows or other fixings;
• deep cleaning of shop and building frontage;
• removal of redundant cabling, alarm boxes, brackets etc;
• signage;
• external lighting;
• works to improve accessibility;
• repair of external tiles, stonework, brickwork and render;
• removal of vegetation;
• repair and reinstatement of guttering and down-pipes;
• professional fees associated with the development and delivery of the project, including planning application fees, consultancy fees and advisory services.

Please note that you will need to consider the materials used and the design of the schemes to ensure that they are of quality and in keeping with the character of the area. You also need to consider your existing consents.

The following guidance may also be helpful for signage on listed and heritage buildings:

Fascia Signs

• Properties should only have one main fascia sign of proportionate size across each shop unit.
• Existing fascias of architectural and/or historic interest should be incorporated into design proposals and not be covered by a new fascia sign.
• Fascias on listed buildings must be timber with hand painted signage.
• Fascias which extend across multiple buildings, even when incorporating a number of commercial units, should respect the depth and proportions of the historic fascia.
• The fascia sign should be appropriately located on the building. In most circumstances this will be immediately above the shop front and below the first-floor windows.

Projecting and hanging signs

• Hanging signs should respect the character of the individual building and adjoining properties. You should adapt your style to preserve and enhance the integrity of the shopfront and the wider streetscape.
• The design of the sign should complement the colour scheme and design of the fascia, so that it appears as part of the existing shopfront.
• Projecting and hanging signs should not be located above first floor level.
• Projecting and hanging signs on historic buildings should be timber with hand painted signage.

The type of building, nature and location of the works/scheme will dictate whether any specific permissions are required. Many of the works eligible under the Fund may need some or all of the following consents:

• planning permission;
• advertisement consent;
• listed building consent;
• building regulations.

You need to apply for these separately if needed.

For information on planning permission, advertisement consent and listed building consent please see Duty Planning Officer Frequently Asked Questions | Test Valley Borough Council or contact planning@testvalley.gov.uk. The duty planning officer can provide initial, general advice on the planning process. If you wish to confirm whether planning permission is needed for your proposals, please apply for a certificate of proposed lawful development (Application forms | Test Valley Borough Council).  Please note that an application for a certificate of lawful development can take up to 8 weeks to determine.

If you would like to have an initial officer view on proposals and where appropriate, assistance with what is required of a planning application, you are advised to engage with the Council’s pre-application advice service. This is a chargeable service. Further information can be found here: Planning Permission and Pre Application Advice | Test Valley Borough Council.

For more information on building regulations, please contact
buildingcontrol@testvalley.gov.uk or contact
01264 368741 or 01264 368312

The funding is limited. Applications will be assessed to ensure eligibility and deliverability on a first come-first served basis until the funding pot is exhausted. No project can be funded until any necessary permissions or consents have been obtained. All projects must be complete and claim forms submitted by 20 March 2026. Photographic evidence of the work done will be required with your claim.

Where demand exceeds the remaining funding available, applications will be prioritised based on the following criteria, as assessed by two officers from Test Valley Borough Council, one from the Economic Development Department and one from the Planning Department:

• impact of the proposed work;
• opportunities to enhance the appearance of the town centre;
• evidence of need (from supplied photographs) ;
• likelihood of deliverability by March 2026;
• size of applicant company – smaller independent businesses will be prioritised.

Procurement of products and services must meet the following minimum procedures:

You must have approval for the grant before expenditure is incurred; grants will not pay for any expenditure incurred before the date of the Grant Offer letter. 

You are expected to check that contractors for works have suitable insurance in place.

You are responsible for arranging all relevant consents, permissions, exemptions and written advice needed, and must carry out the works in accordance with all requirements of those consents and the conditions attached to them. You will not be paid for any work undertaken without all the necessary consents and permissions being in place. 

Grant monies are paid retrospectively and to your business bank account only, not to contractors or suppliers. You must pay for the items/works in full. You can then submit a grant claim form to us with supporting information for processing. More than one claim can be submitted for a project, for example if it is done in stages or if materials are paid for upfront.

A progress report will be required quarterly.

All project expenditure must be auditable.

If your business is registered for VAT, you cannot claim the VAT element of any expenditure in your grant claim. If your business is not VAT registered, you are entitled to claim against the gross cost. We may ask for evidence to support your VAT status. 

TVBC, Andover Town Council and the Andover BID reserve the right to promote the work done under grants, acknowledging that the project was part funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Please note that if you are interested in applying to the Fund you are advised to contact planning@testvalley.gov.uk about any planning consents or permissions you may require for your proposal. You need to secure these before you apply for a grant. Any more general questions about the scheme should be sent to pfunds@testvalley.gov.uk.

Applications must be made via the online application form found on the TVBC website at www.testvalley.gov.uk/andovertowncentrefrontagegrant. You will be asked for details about your business or organisation, the planned works, project costs and the delivery timescales. You will also need to provide the supporting information outlined below:

• Photographs of the frontage that your application relates to.
• Details of permissions or consents granted where applicable.
• Drawings or plans of the work you would like to do produced to an appropriate standard.
• A copy of a recent statement from your business bank account. The statement must be dated within 2 months of the application date and show the bank account name and business address.
• A copy of the most recent full statutory audited / unaudited accounts for your business or, if self-employed, a copy of your most recent HMRC self-assessment return.
• Valid, detailed quotes or catalogue listings for the proposed expenditure. The number of quotations required will be determined by the value of the quotation as described in the section on Financial and approval requirements. 
• Proof of insurance for any contractor that is not registered on Companies House.
• Proof of ownership or lease.
• Written confirmation from your landlord of permission to undertake the project if you are an occupier.
• Any additional information you want to provide to support your application.

Your personal information will be used only for the purposes of assessing your application or providing you with information including the TVBC Business Newsletter to support your business; it will not be transferred outside of the European Economic Area. Should you decide you do not wish to receive the TVBC newsletter, you can unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of the newsletter. Information on the Council’s use of your data can be found here: GDPR Privacy Statement | Test Valley Borough Council.

On submission of your application, you will receive an acknowledgement. Your application will be checked for eligibility and reviewed for completeness. You will be contacted if there are any outstanding queries. If eligible and complete, you will receive a decision within 4 weeks.

We will let you know the outcome of your application by email using the contact details that you have provided.

If your application is successful, we will send you a grant offer letter which details the agreed project and your ongoing obligations under the terms and conditions of the grant. If you want to accept the grant offer letter you must sign and return the declaration within 20 working days. If you do not accept your offer in this time period, it will be withdrawn. 

If your application is unsuccessful, we will explain the reasons for this. There are no appeals rights for the grant; our decision is final.