The Rural England Prosperity Fund has awarded Somerset £3.4m of capital funding for the rural economy, subject to the submission and approval of an Investment Plan.
This fund is complementary to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and is a successor to the European LEADER programmes. The grant money is split over two years with 25 percent of the funds in Year 1 (£856,686) and 75 percent in Year 2 (£2,570,058).
Applicants will need 50 percent match funding for their project and the grant is paid retrospectively once things have been purchased. This scheme will fund capital projects for small businesses and community infrastructure helping to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy and rural communities.
You can apply for capital funding to:
- Support new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy. This includes farm businesses looking to diversify income streams, but not into food and drink.
- Support new and improved community infrastructure, providing essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy. Projects must be in a rural area.
For the purpose of this fund, Defra’s classification of rural areas is:
- Towns, villages and hamlets with populations below 10,000 and the wider countryside
- Market or ‘hub towns’ with populations of up to 30,000 that serve their surrounding rural areas as centres of employment and in providing services (this will exclude funding of projects in Taunton, Bridgwater and Yeovil)
Investments must demonstrate value for money and also, how they contribute to net zero and nature recovery objectives.
If you are interested in finding out more you can view the full details here.
