Rural Development

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced that the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund has opened to applications. The £2.5 million scheme encourages collaboration and knowledge-sharing amongst the farming community in England. To apply, farmers, foresters and other land managers must submit plans showing how they will work together and share knowledge to protect and enhance their local environment. This year’...

Farmers, foresters, growers and contractors in England can apply for a share of a £27 million UK Government fund to help them invest in new equipment, technology and infrastructure to increase productivity, improve animal welfare, and deliver environmental benefits. The Farming Investment Fund is split into two schemes: the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund provides smaller grants of between £2,000 and £25,000 for equipment such as elec...

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, Surrey, 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 organisation...

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has announced that the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund will reopen to applications in December 2021. The £2.5 million scheme encourages collaboration and knowledge-sharing amongst the farming community in England. To apply, farmers, foresters and other land managers must submit plans showing how they will work together and share knowledge to protect and enhance their local environ...

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is making tailored business support available to farmers during the UK's transition away from the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. The Future Farming Resilience Fund will support farmers or land managers in receipt of Basic Payment Scheme payments from August 2021 through to March 2022 to help them navigate the changes during this period. The support will enable farmers to understand the cha...

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a new grant scheme to support farmers and land managers in England’s forty-four ‘protected landscapes’ in England (National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Norfolk Broads). The Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme will fund infrastructure or activities that deliver on at least one of four themes - climate, nature, people and place. Each of the forty-...

Grants of up to £3,000 are available to enable rural pub owners, licensees, and local communities to work together to help support and sustain local services in England, Scotland and Wales. Pub is the Hub’s Community Services Fund will assist projects which support the needs of local communities by using pubs to offer a new service or replace a service that has already been lost, such as a local shop, library, post office or community centr...

Households and businesses in rural areas can apply for funding to help with poor broadband speeds as part of a new £250 million Government initiative. The Government will provide vouchers worth up to £1,500 for homes and £3,500 for businesses to support the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections where existing broadband speeds are less than 100Mbps. Applications can only be made when two or more residents or eligible small or me...

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...

Grants of up to £10,000 are available for projects from across the UK which are working to create resilient rural communities. The Prince’s Countryside Fund will award funding from the Barclays 100x100 UK Covid-19 Community Relief Fund to support farming and rural communities to cope with the impact of Covid-19, to expand on new services that have emerged to support the local community during this time and to build future resilience. Applic...

Voluntary, community and public sector organisations in Scotland can apply for Technical assistance funding through the Scottish Land Fund. The Scottish Land Fund provides grants to voluntary, community and public sector organisations to take ownership of land and buildings to help urban and rural communities to become more resilient and sustainable. Technical assistance grants of £2,500 and £30,000 are available to help prepare to purchas...