Rural England Prosperity Fund


Background

The Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) was announced in September 2022. It supports projects which address the particular challenges that rural areas face and succeeds the EU funding from LEADER and The Growth Programme, which were part of the Rural Development Programme for England.

The programme will provide capital support to new and existing rural businesses to promote growth and diversification, as well as to community infrastructure projects, to strengthen rural communities and the rural economy.

Colchester City Council’s (CCC) confirmed allocation is £532,195, for which a bid was successfully submitted to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as an addendum to our UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan.

The money will be available to most ‘rural’ areas outside the ‘city’ boundary (including towns, villages and hamlets with populations of less than 10,000 people or towns with a population of up to 30,000 people that serve their surrounding rural areas).

In May 2023, CCC will invite grant applications from both businesses and community groups and further information on the criteria and how to apply is available here.

Page last reviewed: