Issue details

The Rural England Prosperity Fund is nationally allocated funding to support business and community projects in rural parts of the country. In the West of England, parts of Bath and North East Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council are eligible for the funding and a total of £827k was received by the Mayoral Combined Authority from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to be spent in-line with the priorities set out in the REPF addendum to our UK Shared Prosperity Fund plan.

In summary, this plan apportioned the available funding equally between the business and community themes. This led to a Rural Business Grant scheme launching for applications from businesses in eligible rural areas against a published set of eligibility guidance, including assessment and appraisal criteria. The application window closed in late August and following completion of assessment and appraisal, under the delegation given by the Committee to agree and approve REPF grants, the Mayoral Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the other West of England CEOs has made this decision.