£110 million funding announced for rural communities in England

The Government has announced the provision of the Rural England Prosperity Fund. This will provide up to £110 million of funding to support rural communities across England. Rural business such as farms, wedding venues and pubs may be able to benefit. It will provide funding for capital projects for small businesses and rural community infrastructure.

According to the Government website, the fund aims to address specific challenges facing countryside communities, including lower productivity rates, poorer connectivity and poorer access to key services.

The funding will be invested in projects which will boost productivity and create rural job opportunities. These could include farm businesses looking to diversify by opening a farm shop, wedding venue or tourism facilities or improvements to village halls, pubs and other rural hubs for community uses.

The fund will be delivered by eligible local authorities. The Government states that this fund will give local leaders a greater say in investment than they previously had under EU schemes. It will be in addition to the £2.6 billion allocated via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to support levelling up across the UK.

Investment will be based on local priorities and support investment in projects such as grants for:

• converting farm buildings to other business uses
• rural tourism, such as investments in visitor accommodation
• capital grants for provision of gigabit-capable digital infrastructure at local hubs such as village halls, pubs and post offices for community use
• capital grants to develop, restore or refurbish local natural, cultural and heritage assets and sites
• creation of new footpaths and cycle paths, particularly in areas of health need, or capital grants to enable people to develop volunteering and social action projects locally

Funding is available from April 2023 to March 2025. Find out more here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rural-england-prosperity-fund-prospectus