Micro and small businesses in rural areas of Rushcliffe can apply for up to £40k funding from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), supported by the UK Government to help them grow and support the local economy.
Grants of between £5k and £40k are available to fund capital projects meeting one of the following criteria:
- Small scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas including funding for net zero infrastructure for rural businesses and diversification of farm businesses outside of agriculture
- Funding for growing the local social economy and supporting innovation
- Funding for the development and promotion, both trade and consumer, of the visitor economy, such as: local attractions, trails, tourism products more generally.
Projects can cover a broad range of initiatives supporting businesses to grow and examples include:
- Creating and expanding leisure and tourism businesses such as event venues, accommodation or leisure facilities
- Purchasing equipment for food processing for non-farmer-owned businesses
- Diversification of farm businesses
- Creation of business hubs, co-working spaces and business infrastructure such as broadband and electric vehicle (EV) charging points
- Resilience infrastructure and nature-based solutions that protect local businesses and community areas from natural hazards including flooding
- Equipment to support the showcasing of local food and drink products such as regional information display boards
- Development of local visitor trails and infrastructure to support this, such as information boards and visitor centres.
Businesses need to apply for the support by 5pm on Friday January 19, 2024 and projects must be delivered in Rushcliffe and organisations must be able to spend their funding allocation between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025.
