A SHREDDING company has become the first benefited from St Helens Council’s £1-million Business Grant Fund.

Haydock-based waste disposal experts SafeShred was awarded a £4,500 grant towards the cost of a new service van, creating an additional job with a new van driver.

Company director, Frank O’Hare said: “We operate in an industry highly regulated by legislation and because we have a nationally recognised UKAS ISO accreditation, we stand out from the competition. The business has doubled in size in the last 12 months and we have more customers to service than ever.

"Adding to our vehicle fleet means we can offer a quicker response to new customers without impacting our ever growing scheduled business”.

Managed by St Helens Chamber, the grant funding aims to provide the resources to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who want to expand or need additional support, but cannot find suitable finance.

Grants between £1,000 and £10,000 are available, which can be used to cover up to 50% of the cost of expansion projects.

Tracy Mawson, director of business services at the Chamber said: “Supporting businesses to expand and create job opportunities for local people is a major priority for the Chamber and St. Helens Council. Having the funding available is critical to most firms’ ability to grow, so we are extremely pleased to be able to offer grant funding, as well as support to access finance from other sources.”

Council Leader Barrie Grunewald added: “I’m delighted that our Business Grant Fund is starting to benefit local companies.

“Creating the £1 million fund was a major commitment by the council – but a move that we believe is vital if we are help our local businesses grow during difficult economic times and generate more jobs for local people.”

For more information about business grants available through St Helens Chamber visit www.sthelenschamber.com/business_grants or call Ian Fletcher on 01744 742108.