Rural Development

IGas Energy Plc is one of the UK's leading onshore hydrocarbon producers has announced that its Community Energy Fund has opened for applications. The fund covers specific areas of Hampshire, West Sussex and Lincolnshire where the company operates. IGas support projects that make a difference to life in the mainly rural communities where they operate. Organisations that are eligible to apply include community and voluntary organisations that a...

Grants of between £3,000 and £12,000 are available to help boost the productivity of the farming sector in England. The UK Government has made £25 million available for the final round of the Countryside Productivity Small Grants (CPSG) scheme to help farmers become more productive, efficient and resilient, and to benefit the environment. Farmers can use funding to invest in the latest technology and equipment – from livestock monitoring...

Grants of up to £10,000 are available for projects which support small, deprived communities in remote rural areas which have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. Local charities, and other legally-constituted not-for-profit organisations can apply for funding from the Prince’s Countryside Fund for projects which will create resilient rural communities across the UK, particularly those with an ageing population or with few worki...

Businesses and residents in some of the hardest-to-reach places in the UK are eligible for additional funding towards the cost of installing new gigabit-capable broadband to their premises when part of a group project. Two or more businesses applying together can use vouchers worth up to £3,500 for each small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), and up to £1,500 per residential premise to support the cost of installing new gigabit-capable con...

Schools, Parish Councils and other community based organisations in rural England that want to develop renewable energy projects which provide economic and social benefits to their communities and also make money by selling it back to the grid, can apply for funding through the Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) to investigate and install green energy; including solar battery storage, wind, hydro and geothermal heat projects. The RCEF provide...

Charities working in rural areas to support the education of young people or relief of poverty can apply for grants of up to £50,000. The funding is available for mainly larger projects that would have a significant impact upon rural economies. Projects supported in the past have ranged from City farms, Federations of Young Farmers Clubs and farming Community Networks. The funding is being made available through the NFU Mutual Charitable Trus...