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Rural England Prosperity Fund

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The Rural England Prosperity Fund is no longer accepting applications, there will be a new round later in 2023.

The Government has announced a top-up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). Horsham District has been allocated £871,733, which can be spent over two financial years (2023/24 and 2024/25).

The Rural Fund recognises the specific challenges facing our rural areas, including:

  • Lower productivity rates
  • Poorer connectivity
  • Poorer access to key services

There are two investment priorities for the fund:

  • Supporting local business
  • Community and place

The Rural Fund provides capital funding to:

  • Support new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy
  • Support new and improved community infrastructure
  • Support projects in a rural area (excludes Horsham Town)
  • Funding profile – 25% 2023/24 and 75% 2024/25

An addendum has been submitted to government for approval. This set out our intention to set up a grant programme.

To find out more about the fund, read the REPF prospectus on the Government website.

Express an interest in the REPF grant programme

Horsham District Council is no longer accepting applications, there will be a new round later in 2023. You will need to submit an Expression of Interest for eligible CAPITAL projects via our online form which will be available on this webpage. If this is successful, you will be notified and then required to complete a full application for formal assessment.

You should not incur any expenditure prior to receiving your formal grant agreement. REVENUE projects will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered

To be eligible for a REPF grant, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Who – Constituted community groups and businesses based in Horsham District, registered with Companies House, Charities Commission or HMRC
  • Where – Benefitting the rural economy of Horsham District excluding Horsham Town (as does not qualify). To check which area is defined as Horsham Town, visit the Rural England Prosperity fund mapping tool and click on 'administrative geographies' in the table of contents, then 'other administrative boundaries' and then select 'Rural England Prosperity Fund' as a layer.
  • When – All successful project applicants must have completed their capital project and spent all of the grant by 1 March 2025, at the latest
  • Minimum Grant Values: £10,000
  • Maximum Grant Values: £75,000
  • Match funding requirement: Minimum 25% of Project Total

For further information on applying for the programme, visit our Guidance page.

To make sure you're the first to know when the next Rural Fund round opens, sign up to our Business email newsletter.

If you have any queries regarding the Rural Fund, please email ruralenglandprosperityfund@horsham.gov.uk.