Rural England Prosperity Fund
1.Background to the Rural England Prosperity Fund
We have been awarded £154k of Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) money to support our rural communities and businesses during 2025-2026. The total amount will be split between business grants and community projects. This guidance relates only to business grants.
The business strand of the REPF provides capital funding to support new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities for their enterprise that will be of wider benefit to the local economy — this includes farm businesses looking to diversify income streams outside of agriculture. REPF grants must be used for capital projects. This means that the grants must be spent on lasting assets such as a building or equipment.
The REPF sits alongside existing schemes from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), including:
- The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme
- The Farming Investment Fund
- The Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Improvement Grant Fund