Deadline: 30-Aug-2024
The Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) supports capital projects that improve productivity and strengthen rural economies and communities.
Aims
- Specifically, the fund aims to support:
- new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities that will benefit the local economy (this includes farm businesses looking to diversify income streams)
- new and improved community infrastructure, providing essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy
Funding Information
- They have £300,000 to allocate in 2024/25 and the REPF grant scheme is now open to applications.
- You can apply for funding for capital projects up to the value of £20,000, which you must spend in the financial year 2024/25.
Types of Projects
- Projects must meet the aims of REPF and be seeking capital grant funding for:
- small scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas
- growing the local social economy and supporting innovation
- developing and promoting the visitor economy
- investment in capacity building and infrastructure support for local civil society and community groups
- creation and improvements to local rural green spaces
- existing cultural, historic and heritage institutions that make up the local cultural heritage offer
- local arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities
- active travel enhancements in the local area
- rural circular economy projects
- impactful volunteering and social action projects
Example Projects
- Investment Priority 1: Supporting Rural Businesses
- Capital grant funding for small scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas
- Examples include:
- creation and expansion of rural leisure and tourism businesses (such as creating event venues or farm tourism facilities such as accommodation, wedding venues and leisure facilities)
- purchase of equipment for food processing for non-farmer-owned businesses (such as purchasing new process and packaging machinery such as brewing equipment and onsite vending machines, equipping development kitchens, or modernising existing kitchen equipment for increased energy efficiency or increased productivity)
- funding for resilience infrastructure and nature-based solution that protect local businesses and community areas from natural hazards including flooding
- Examples include:
- Capital grant for growing the local social economy and supporting innovation
- Examples include:
- Creation of multifunctional rural business hubs providing shared workspace and networking opportunities for rural businesses. E.g., creating flexible access to commercial kitchens, co-working spaces and business infrastructure such as electric vehicle charging points.
- Establishment of rural community businesses. E.g., community-owned shops, equipment to support the showcasing of local food and drink products such as regional information display boards.
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for developing and promoting the visitor economy
- Examples include:
- Development of local visitor trails and infrastructure to support this such as information boards or visitor centres.
- Grants for the development of local tourist attractions
- Development of local visitor experiences based on the local offer.
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for small scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas
- Investment Priority 2: Supporting Rural Communities
- Capital grant funding for investment in capacity building and infrastructure support for local civil society and community groups
- Examples include:
- Capital grants for provision of net zero infrastructure for rural communities and to support rural tourism activity. E.g., EV charging points, community energy schemes, such as scaled up biomass, heat pumps or solar.
- Capital grants for kitchens in community hubs which can support food and drink entrepreneurs get accreditation for food production.
- Funding for resilience infrastructure and nature-based solutions that protect local businesses and community areas from natural hazards including flooding.
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for creation and improvements to local rural green spaces
- Examples include:
- Capital grants to establish or enhance rural green and blue infrastructure including community gardens, green spaces, watercourses, and embankments, greening of streets and paths, or incorporating natural features into wider public spaces.
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for existing cultural, historic and heritage institutions that make up the local cultural heritage offer
- Examples include:
- Capital grants to develop, restore or refurbish local natural, cultural and heritage assets and sites.
- Capital grants to improve visitor experience and accessibility of these assets. E.g., by creating wheelchair accessible and step free access that goes beyond statutory requirements, by providing all terrain wheelchairs allowing access to new areas of sites
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for local arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities
- Examples include:
- Capital grants for provision of maker spaces
- Capital grants for local art galleries, museums and libraries for altering premises or providing spaces for exhibitions to support displays for artists to showcase work.
- Capital grants to enable cultural, heritage and creative events and provision of venues for locally-led: music and theatre performances, tours, author events, film screenings.
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for active travel enhancements in the local area
- Examples include:
- Creation of new or upgrading of existing footpaths and cycle paths, particularly in areas of health need.
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for rural circular economy projects
- Examples include:
- Capital grants to enable setting up or enhancing rural community-led repair cafes or mend workshops. This includes grants for providing premises and tools/equipment.
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for impactful volunteering and social action projects
- Examples include:
- Capital grants to enable people to develop volunteering and social action projects locally. E.g., purchase of equipment, improvements to premises to enable local volunteering groups such as youth charities, carers groups or support groups.
- Examples include:
- Capital grant funding for investment in capacity building and infrastructure support for local civil society and community groups
Location
- Not all locations within the Chelmsford local authority area are eligible for this fund. Projects are only eligible if they are in a rural area. For REPF purposes, rural areas are:
- towns, villages and hamlets with populations below 10,000
- 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
Eligibility Criteria
- You can only apply if you are a legally recognised organisation, such as a:
- public sector organisation
- higher and further education institution
- private sector company
- voluntary organisation
- registered charity
- Your organisation should have a bank account with at least two signatories.
- If you are an individual, you cannot apply for this funding.
Ineligible
- You will not be eligible if the project:
- is a statutory duty
- has already happened
- promotes a particular religious or political belief
For more information, visit Chelmsford City Council.