A new Growth Programme has made £24 million of grants available to support rural communities and businesses.
Applications are now open to any projects aimed at bringing benefits and economic improvements to local areas, Farming Minister George Eustice announced. Benefits could range from helping people start or grow a new business to creating new food processing facilities or boosting tourism.
Mr Eustice says supporting rural entrepreneurs can help bring good jobs to these areas, increase productivity and encourage growth in the local economy.
Individual grants
The Growth Programme will be provided through individual grants worth upwards of £35,000, depending on the project.
To get the best results for rural areas, applications will be scored against a range of criteria including local priorities. Those who look to address these priorities will more likely be successful in their application.
The grants will be offered in 9 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) by the Rural Payments Agency. LEPs bring together the work of local authorities and businesses.
In August and September, there will be 2 more rounds of the programme, when any remaining LEP areas will get the chance to apply.
More investment planned
The programme is just one of a number of initiatives aimed at boosting the economy of rural areas over the next 6 years.
It is part of the larger Rural Development Programme (RDF), which will target different aspects of rural life.
The RDF is planning to invest £3.5 billion into rural economies by 2020.
