The Economic Recovery Fund
What is The Economic Recovery Fund?
The Economic Recovery Fund (ERF) ran between February 2021 and April 2025. It was a unique, innovative grant fund that aimed to support local economic recovery in local high streets across Sheffield, by empowering local groups of businesses to implement changes themselves.
The Fund’s objectives were:
- To help build the foundations for economic renewal across Sheffield by investing in communities and high streets, helping to build resilience to the cost-of-living crisis and future economic challenges.
- To make high streets and local centres feel safe and welcoming, so that residents want to spend time and shop there.
- To encourage businesses and groups to work together on ideas to improve their high streets, and bring new energy to those that already are.
- To support high street businesses to work with their communities and leave a lasting legacy of community infrastructure that can continue to thrive once projects are complete.
The Economic Recovery Fund aimed to empower local communities to identify and deliver solutions that would work for their neighbourhood, so the objectives were purposely broad so that applicants could develop their own ideas to better fit local circumstances and needs.
As a result, the programme saw local businesses take on new roles in their local areas, forge new connections, and make changes that their communities welcomed.
What the ERF programme and its projects achieved
Partnerships of businesses and local organisations could apply for funding for up to £50k for a small project or £50k - £200k for a larger project.
The first round of funding was launched in March 2021 and 26 projects were awarded funding. A second round was launched in February 2023, which also supported 23 projects, before the fund closed in April 2025.
The 49 ERF projects supported with funding were:
ERF Round 1 |
ERF Round 2 |
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Abbeydale Road |
Abbeydale Road |
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Angel Street Kinema |
Banner Cross |
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Bear Trail Extension |
Broomhill |
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Broomhill Traders Association |
Chapeltown |
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Castlegate Festival |
Crookes |
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Chapeltown |
Darnall |
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Community in Unity |
Ecclesfield |
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Division Street Markets |
Firth Park |
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Festival on the Square |
Greenhill |
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Firth Park |
Hackenthorpe |
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Game City Adventure |
Harborough Avenue |
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Hillsborough Regeneration Project |
Newfield Green and Gaunt Precinct |
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Leopold Square Summer Festival of Music |
Hillsborough |
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Manor Park |
Infirmary Road |
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Mosborough |
London Road |
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Nether Edge |
Lowedges |
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Orchard Square animation |
Middlewood |
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Page Hall |
Northern Avenue |
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Pollen Market |
Spital Hill |
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Sheffield Music Trails |
Stannington |
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CIQ animation |
Walkley |
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Spital Hill |
Westfield |
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Totley Rise |
Woodhouse |
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Tudor Square Animation |
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Walkley |
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Woodhouse |
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ERF in action
Below you can see some visual examples of the achievements and positive changes that ERF enabled in local areas.
Highlights from Round 1
A whistle-stop tour of some of the brilliant things that people made happen using ERF funding in 2022.
Helping communities rediscover their local area
Connecting businesses with new customers through fun events
Creating local area brands
Creating happier, healthier streets
Evaluating the impact of the ERF
The ERF had a tangible and positive impact on the city. The programme made visible improvements to high streets and stimulated a wide variety of well received community actions and activities. It empowered community and business groups and helped local people see their high street in a different light. Its bottom-up, collaborative community led approach was a key strength and has laid a foundation for future partnership working.
Evaluations of each round showed the positive impact the Fund had:
- Round 1 - £4m impact and £2.20 social return on investment
- Round 2 - £7.4m impact and £3.60 social return on investment
- Across both rounds hundreds of outputs have been delivered across the city, including:
- 170 new pieces of street art, adding vibrancy and colour to high streets
- Nearly 100 events to give people a reason to visit their local high street and see it in a positive light
- Branding and marketing across 20 areas to raise the profile of the high street and encourage people to spend in local independent businesses
- Over 700 items of street furniture installed and green spaces improved to improve perceptions and make high streets feel more welcoming
- Over 100 shop fronts improved
- 8 new business forums created
- 25 ‘other’ unique and ambitious ideas including: a green wall (Broomhill), 8 new orienteering routes (Chapeltown), a digital skills project focused on female sole traders (Spital Hill), a new parking scheme (Mosborough), the creation of borrow banks for business and community groups (Spital Hill and London Road).
Click here to read the full evaluation report for each round of the ERF Funding.
