Rural businesses in the North of England urged to check out an opportunity to benefit from grant funding.
Over £27 million has been made available by the government to fund small businesses and community infrastructure in the North of England in the new Rural England Prosperity Fund.
The fund is a replacement for EU structural funds such as LEADER and the Growth Programme.
Funding has been allocated proportionately across councils throughout the North of England, and are being administered individually by each council. Visit your local council website using the links below and find out how you can apply for funding.
Whether your business is based in West Yorkshire or Westmorland, in Cheshire West and Chester or Copeland, check out whether this might be an opportunity to gain funding for new investment.
Hat-tip for this table from, the NFU, who are encouraging farmers to check this out and make sure that farming gets its fair share of the funds available: NFU members are urged to see how they might benefit from grant support through the fund, as part of a drive to secure long-term funding.
Sounds like an excellent idea to me, and other local businesses in rural areas in the North of England might like to do the same. I have updated the table slightly to reflect 2023 changes in local government.
And note that from 2024 there will be a new Mayoral Combined authority working with two of the Unitary authorities below, York and North Yorkshire.
| Area | Link for more information |
|---|---|
| Mayoral Combined Authorities | |
| North of Tyne | North of Tyne Combined Authority |
| South Yorkshire | South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority |
| Tees Valley | Tees Valley Combined Authority |
| West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire Combined Authority |
| Unitary Authorities | |
| County Durham | Durham County Council |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | East Riding of Yorkshire Council |
| York | City of York Council |
| Cheshire East | Cheshire East Council |
| Cheshire West and Chester | Cheshire West and Chester Council |
| New Unitary authority | |
| North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire Council |
| Current or former Lower Tier Authority areas | |
| Allerdale (former borough area) | Cumberland Council |
| Carlisle (former city council area) | Cumberland Council |
| Chorley | Chorley Council |
| Copeland (former borough area) | Cumberland Council |
| Barrow in Furness, and Eden (former council areas) | Westmorland and Furness Council |
| Lancaster | Lancaster City Council |
| Ribble Valley | Ribble Valley Borough Council |
| South Lakeland (former district area) | Westmorland and Furness Council |
| West Lancashire | West Lancashire Borough Council |
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