Wiltshire Council received 55 applications totalling £4.2m for its grant scheme designed to help local businesses.

The ‘Invest in Wiltshire’ grant scheme closed for applications last month after being heavily over-subscribed.

The council has said that the £4.2m applied for is more than three times the amount of funding available.

Councillor Richard Clewer, cabinet member for economic development and leader of Wiltshire Council, said: “Unfortunately, the fund has been heavily over-subscribed, and the amount applied for greatly exceeds the funding that has been awarded to us by the government, and so some businesses will miss out, but we’ve done all we can to support Wiltshire businesses by increasing the pot to £1.83m.

“We are now assessing applications to establish which bids best meet the criteria, and we will let all applicants know whether they have been successful or not in the coming months.

“A grants panel will take the final decisions based on recommendations following assessment.

“It is of course disappointing that we can’t help all the businesses that have applied, but we are signposting them to alternative funding opportunities.

The applicants had to show they would create new jobs or more skilled jobs and help the business to reduce its carbon footprint.

The grants will be distributed to buy new equipment, machinery or digital infrastructure, as well as to improve premises and create workspaces.