Small businesses and community organisations in the district are being invited to apply for funding to boost investment in rural areas and support local communities.
We have been allocated £400,000 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) to support rural businesses and communities, with £100,000 to be allocated for 2023/24 and £300,000 for 2024/25.
The fund is being used to:
- Develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy
- Support new and improved community infrastructure, providing essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy.
We are now inviting small businesses and community organisations to submit an Expression of Interest. Small businesses and community organisations with less than 50 employees and a turnover under £10m can apply.
Funding must be for ‘capital’ projects, for example a lasting asset such as a building or equipment, and must have a value of over £10,000. Applications will need to include a business plan and should be deliverable between January 2024 and June 2024.
Successful applications will need to demonstrate how projects will achieve results for the area, ranging from jobs created or safeguarded to increased users of facilities or increased numbers of volunteers.
For more information, or to make an application, please see the REPF page on the DDC website.
Posted on 06 December 2023