Winchester City Council has received funding for its rural areas under the Rural England Prosperity Fund. This capital grant scheme supports projects for small businesses and community infrastructure in rural communities, to help to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy. There is a total of £745,000 allocated to the Winchester District over two years, with the majority falling in 24/25.

2023/24	£186,274
2024/25	£558,822
Total	£745,09

We will be allocating £350,000 in the current round of funding which will remain open for appliations until 17 May 2024. Please note that the grants are subject to the release of funding by central government.

Before completing your application please read the Rural England Prosperity Fund criteria and guidelines which can be downloaded on the right handside of this webpage. Start your application here.

If you would like a preliminary discussion to determine whether your project would be eligible, please contact prosperity@winchester.gov.uk

Can you apply?

• Your project must be located in a Rural area of the Winchester district*
• We are aiming to make awards for a minimum of £15,000 and maximum of £40,000. In exceptional circumstances, we may consider other grant amounts
• This is a capital grant for lasting assets such as buildings or equipment. Businesses are required to match fund their project, with finance or in-kind. Details of match funding requirements can be found in the guidelines in the right column of this page.
• Projects cannot be funded by other DEFRA programmes
• Projects can span more than one priority – i.e micro-enterprise grants and Cultural Venue Grants.
• Projects must start after 1 April 2024 and be completed by March 2025.

What can REPF be invested into?

Local grants awarded using Rural England Prosperity Funding (REPF) will provide investment opportunities to:

Support new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy. We have already helped a coffee roasting business to increase production and employment by purchasing a larger-volume roasting machine, and we have enabled a local farm business to diversify income streams by investing in a shepherd's hut and solar panelling.

Support new and improved community infrastructure, providing essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy.  We have already contributed to the construction of a new Scout Barn, helped with the installation of ground source heat pumps for one parish and provided easy-to-handle staging for another.

For further information on Rural England Prosperity Funding please follow this link: REPF Prospectus.

In the financial year 2024/25, we are looking for businesses and community groups working on projects that align with the following priorities:

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH GRANTS – Combatting climate change and going green

REPF 1.1             Rural business grants (referred to as Micro-enterprise grants on the application form)

These are grants that help businesses to start-up, grow and diversify.  Eligible beneficiaries might include, but are not limited to, landowners with unused buildings who are looking to make them energy-efficient or to generate power through roof-mounted solar PV installations.  Providing electric vehicle charging points for eg delivery vans and finding new uses for land that help with climate change are other projects that are likely to be eligible.

Any business that needs equipment to grow, especially in the environmental sector, is welcome to apply for funding.  Llocal food producers and those that are reviving traditional skills such as blacksmithing or stonemasonry are invited to apply for equipment and tools.

All rural businesses may be eligible for filters and insultation that reduce the sound, smell or dust caused by their activity, and lessen the environmental impact.

REPF 2.2             Strengthening local communities (UKSPF E11 - referred to as Net Zero Infrastructure on the application form)

These grants are designed to help rural communities stick together and develop a sense of pride in where they live.  Examples of eligible projects could include:

• Improving the fabric of a community building by installing insulation, double glazing, LED lighting etc.
• Installing charging points for electric vehicles (EVs)
• Generating energy via the installation of solar PV panelling, ground source heat pumps etc
• Creating flood defences
• Providing equipment for community kitchens, pantries, men’s sheds, allotments etc
• Developing a community energy scheme

REPF 2.7             Circular Economy Grants

These are grants designed to support local initiatives to reduce waste by encouraging the reuse or recycling of unwanted materials such as timber, metal and textiles.  An example could be a refurbished barn, complete with tools, used as a repair shop, men’s shed, artists’ co-working space or as an educational centre for training local residents to mend, forage or create.  Storage for material and local scrap stores may also be eligible.

REPF 2.6             Support for Active Travel Enhancements (UKSPF E7)

Private vehicle use is now estimated to cause 185 grams of CO2 emissions per mile.  Staying active while we travel, by walking or cycling, reduces emissions and contributes to physical and mental fitness.  These grants will fund the creation or improvement of footpaths and cycle paths as well as funding equipment such as bicycles, parking racks, e-bike docking bays and safety barriers.

CULTURE AND TOURISM GRANTS

REPF 1.3             Development and promotion (both trade and consumer) of the visitor economy (UKSPF E17)

Funding for new attractions, trails, experiences, signage etc.

REPF 2.4             Enhancing existing cultural, historic and heritage institutions (UKSPF E4)

Grants are available to improve the visitor experience and accessibility of galleries, theatres, museums, parks and gardens, cathedrals etc.  Ramps, lifts, all-terrain wheelchairs, multilingual audio guides and improved signage are all examples of costs that may be eligible.

REPF 2.5             Cultural venue grants for local arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities       (UKSPF E6)

The emphasis of this grant is on the venue as opposed to the visitor (2.4).  The grant is for funding the creation of new venues and the refurbishment of existing ones eg. the remodelling of a storeroom into additional performance or exhibition space.

COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE

REPF 1.2             Growing the local social economy (UKSPF E26)

This capital grant aims to support all stages of community business including start-ups.  The awards are intended to fund infrastructure such as broadband and EV charging points, premises for community-owned shops and equipment to showcase local food and drink products such as regional information display boards.

REFF 2.1             Digital connectivity for community facilities  (UKSPF E15)

This grant is designed to help rural residents to access faster Internet speeds at village halls, libraries, post offices, pubs and other buildings widely used by the community, by upgrading the broadband to gigabit capability.  Applications must align with Project Gigabit.

REPF 2.8             Impactful volunteering and social action (UKSPF E9)

This grant will finance the purchase of equipment and improvements to premises that will enable volunteers to undertake charitable or social activities.  An example might be the refurbishment of a refugee centre.

GREEN SPACES ENHANCEMENT

REPF 2.3             Enhancing rural green and blue infrastructure (UKSPF E3)

These are capital grants to establish or improve community gardens, green spaces, water courses and embankments, the provision of trees along streets and paths and the incorporation of natural features into wider public spaces.

 

* For Rural Fund purposes, rural areas are:

• towns, villages and hamlets with populations below 10,000 and the wider countryside
• market or ‘hub towns’ with populations of up to 30,000 that serve their surrounding rural areas as centres of employment and in providing services.
• To see whether you are located within an eligible area for REPF, open the link to DEFRA’s Magic Map and follow the instructions below:
• DEFRA Map to show REPF eligible areas: Magic Map Application
• Under ‘Table of Contents’ select ‘Administrative Geographies’ then ‘Other Administrative Boundaries’ then select ‘Rural England Prosperity Fund’
• Search for the location by entering the postcode within the search bar (top left of page) or manually zoom in on a location
• You will find a toolbar of icons above the map. Select the ‘Identify’ icon and click on the location of your project on the map. A pop-up box will appear notifying you if the area is considered rural for the purposes of REPF
• The areas flagged outside Winchester Town centre are MoD site Worthy Down and areas of Whiteley.

To apply for the REPF, please use the Flexigrant system link.

 

 

As part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, we've been allocated £1 million to be spent throughout the district.

Starting in 2022, and ending in 2025, the money will be used to help pay for projects that support the fund’s three priorities:

• Community and Place
• Supporting Local Business
• People and Skills.

Funding will go towards projects that focus on the council's priorities, including: 

• Inspiring pride in place
• Helping the district to become greener faster
• Supporting a vibrant local economy

Initiatives that promote health, well-being and opportunity for disadvantaged communities will also be a key focus of the funding.

Following consultation with a range of partners and stakeholders, we determined which projects and activities to fund and most of these are now underway.  A small percentage remains for allocation during 2024.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, by investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit the UKSPF Prospectus.