Rural communities to benefit from funding support

COMMUNITIES across rural England are set to benefit from an extra £110 million in local authority funding to support rural business and community groups.

Eligible local authorities will receive the funding, which they can invest in initiatives such as farm diversification, projects to boost rural tourism, and community infrastructure projects, including electric vehicle charging stations.

The funding will also help people start up local businesses to supercharge growth and create employment opportunities for rural areas.

The confirmed allocations are spread right across the country. Dorset and Wiltshire each receive more than £2 million, while New Forest will receive over £500,000, over a two-year period.

The Rural England Prosperity Fund is a rural top-up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which is £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment to support levelling up across the UK. It marks a change from previous bureaucratic and fragmented EU funds, allowing England to take back control of its own growth investment and giving local leaders a greater say in where funding is best spent.

Environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, said: “Driving investment in rural areas is a vital part of our vision for levelling up the country. The new Rural Prosperity Fund replaces the bureaucratic EU funding system – allowing us to work closely with local leaders to direct funding where it is most needed to close the rural productivity gap, create job opportunities and protect the English countryside.

“This confirmed spending will allow local authorities to deliver on their plans to level up businesses and communities in rural areas from today, in line with their residents’ priorities.”

The money will be spent on two key areas: projects to improve community facilities; and supporting local business.