2026–2028
Newhaven Forward
Our new two-year funding programme carries forward our support for the refurbishment of shopfronts in Newhaven Town Centre and for community-centred activities, with an increased funding pot for our Community Support Fund in 2026-27. Newhaven Forward also builds on the success of our Low Carbon Investment and Refurbishment of Employment Space funds by harnessing their combined goals in the Business Growth Fund.
A proportion of the NEZ funding is allocated for investment in economic growth and regeneration projects, specifically to match fund growth and place-based programmes and projects.
A small proportion of this investment fund can also be used for feasibility and technical work to structure and develop transformational projects.
This funding pot supports transformation projects from the public or private sector which meet these criteria:
- Support our strategic objectives
- Leverage investment (a minimum of 1:1)
- Demonstrate impact and benefits
- Demonstrate value for money
Funding support is provided through capital grant arrangements.
Significant investment is taking place to transform Newhaven town centre and high street.
A key Enterprise Zone site, we work with key stakeholders, including public agencies, to test and develop appropriate management and maintenance arrangements to build capacity and structures for the future sustainable management of the town centre.
Valuing creative freedom is a key pillar to Newhaven’s proposition, underpinned by quantitative and qualitative evidence that points to the need for investment in this sector.
Initial work has scoped the resource needed to build the capacity and infrastructure to support creative growth while also creating an unrivalled programme of events to challenge any negative perceptions about the place. The aim is to animate the public spaces in and around the town that are earmarked for future redevelopment and demonstrate that investing now will create confidence in Newhaven’s direction of travel and attract early adopters (creative workspace, food offer, and so on).
Creative Newhaven has already achieved early successes in terms of the quality of programming, reach and leveraging investment. It has a full-time Creative Producer, hosted by the Towner Partnership, who is successfully building effective and collaborative working through the Creative Newhaven platform.
The Newhaven story is both ambitious and aspirational, but also reflects the reality of Newhaven today.
The role of the enterprise zone is to create confidence in the direction of travel set out, while the funding leveraged is effectively spent and projects delivered. That requires us to sustain the momentum created in order to attract occupiers for the new premises along with visitors to enjoy the wider and improved place-based leisure offer.
The key objective for our marketing and promotions is to create a media relations and social media campaign that generates continuous positive messaging about Newhaven and the Enterprise Zone across the region and the United Kingdom, in order to change perceptions, attract inward investment and boost local pride.
In addition, the fund provides marketing support to promote the business investment programmes (01, 02 and 04) to raise awareness and ensure good take up of the investment opportunities.
We have chosen a local partner, who is retained to provide this advice and deliver the campaign on our behalf with whom we work very closely.
This fund supports projects in three priority areas:
Development of New or Refurbishment of Employment Space
- Feasibility studies, masterplans, site investigations, preplanning, business case development and property adaptations
Low Carbon Investment
- Any company that wishes to pursue business growth by developing low carbon products and/or incorporating low carbon processes or services. This may be achieved through pure research and development, capital investment or environmental aid support.
- Support to implement carbon reduction measures.
Capital Projects
- Businesses can apply for a grant for the cost of capital projects. This could include new equipment, machinery, low- or zero-carbon commercial vehicles.
The fund is open to all businesses located within the Newhaven Enterprise Zone and offers grants of up to £15,000, requiring a minimum 50% match funding. Projects must enable business growth or improvement and align with the strategic objectives of the Enterprise Zone, demonstrating clear impact, benefits and value for money.
This community grants scheme benefits the Newhaven BN9 postcode area by offering one-off awards to charities and not-for-profit organisations who work within this community.
We encourage applications from projects that foster innovation in community participation, address inequality, raise aspirations and develop opportunities for people in Newhaven to be more actively engaged. We particularly welcome applications from those who have not previously received an award from this fund.
Our funding priorities
- Projects, services and activities that encourage participation by children and empower young people.
- Community venues and activity spaces
- Creating opportunities for inter-generational shared experience through regular clubs or one-off events
- Promote, support and improve access to volunteering opportunities as part of a project, service or activity
- Developing community spirit, supporting communities to live happily together and provide information, advice, advocacy or counselling to those in need
- Encouraging creativity
- Potential to lead to enterprise or significant transformation.
Newhaven is a place that has always been intrinsically linked with marine and water. It has a strong fishing tradition as well as the potential to support a wider food and drink offer, along with the outdoor activities linked to a strong marine-influenced leisure offer.
As part of building a vibrant place and local economy, education in marine-related study through the Marine Hub and marine workshops is important. Activity linked to green energy would be appropriate for Newhaven and would give clear focus.
Support needs to be given to investing in Newhaven Marine to understand the interventions required, especially with regard to expert advice and collaborative, flexible solutions that look beyond Newhaven.
Partnerships can be developed with the cluster of London Ports, of which Newhaven is one, but also along the south coast, to develop and innovate solutions around green fuels, waste, access to markets and, importantly, marine skills.
The marine workshops provides a physical hub on the waterside to focus on work and share experiences, but also to make a strong statement of intent that Newhaven is a marine centre.