Rural England Prosperity Fund – open

If you’re based in Vale of White Horse, visit our Vale of White Horse District Council website.

The Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) is open for applications until midday on Monday 30 June 2025.

What type of project will the scheme fund?

REPF provides capital grant funding to:

Support new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy. This includes farm businesses looking to diversify income streams outside of agriculture.
Support new and improved community infrastructure, providing essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy.

Funding must be used on capital projects. This means grant funds must be spent on lasting assets such as equipment. For further details of what constitutes capital costs for REPF purposes please see our Identifying Capital Expenditure for Grant Purposes guidance here. The grant funds cannot be spent on running costs or promotional activities. We will not award grants towards loans, mortgages and revenue costs, for example, maintenance, rent, clothing or salaries. We will not fund projects which could prevent the council from achieving aims outlined in our corporate plan.

Who can apply to the scheme?

Eligibility for the scheme is based on project location and will be determined through DEFRA’s Magic Maps. If a project is not in an eligible area, applicants will be informed that we cannot accept the application.

The following organisations can apply:

Town and Parish Councils
Public sector organisations
Higher and further education institutions
Private sector companies
Registered charities
Social enterprises, for example CIC’s
Arms-length bodies of government

We cannot support projects that have received funding from other Defra schemes. This includes:

How much can I apply for?

Applicants can request a minimum of £2,500 and a maximum of £30,000. The council’s total budget for the scheme is £219,934.

Please note this is a competitive grant scheme, and therefore it will not always be possible to fund every eligible application. Due to the time constraints on this funding, projects must have secured the required match funding and have all relevant consents in place before applying for this scheme.

What will I need to apply?

Applicants will need the following:

A copy of the latest statements for any bank/building society accounts in the name of the organisation, as identified in the application and on their constitution or company documentation.
Evidence that the organisation is located within an eligible REPF area. This could be official correspondence (utility bill, bank statement, HMRC letters etc) in the organisation’s name with a Magic Maps eligible address and postcode shown.
Two formal quotes for the project for any building work. Professional estimates or quantity surveys are not acceptable.
A breakdown of the budget for the project.
Evidence of the secured match funding for the project. This could be bank statements showing the funds available, or grant offer letters showing the amount of funding offered. Failure to provide evidence of secured match funding will result in application’s being deemed ineligible, and they will not be presented to the grant panel. Only projects costing less than £10,000 and requesting full project funding do not need to provide this.
Copies of any necessary planning permissions, listed building, diocese faculty, landlord or Head lease consents, compliance with any restrictions on the property title and other relevant permissions. Please note that we cannot fund planning permission and building regulations costs. We may request evidence that planning permission is not needed for some projects, such as installation of bike racks or other building improvement works.
Evidence of ownership of the property, either a freehold interest in the property or a lease with at least 5 years remaining, including a copy of the Land Registry title register and plan of no more than 3 months old. If the property is leased, or the Land Registry documents show another organisation has a claim on the title, please provide valid permission for the works from the third party (freeholder) / landlord.
Their most recent financial accounts or their working budget and financial plan for the year if they’re a new organisation. Parish Councils are required to submit their full accounts.
A project plan, including ongoing maintenance arrangements.
Charities and community organisations must provide a constitution that demonstrates that the project they are applying for matches the organisation’s objectives. They are a ‘not for profit organisation’ and the trustees don’t receive benefits (except parish or town councils, churches or similar organisations that are governed by a central body and therefore don’t have their own constitution).
Private sector companies must provide either a UTR number or a company registration number, and evidence they are actively trading.

Applicants must be able to confirm:

They will sign up to our grant terms and conditions before proceeding with the application. These are available to download from our South and Vale websites and the grants system.
They have the correct authority in place for their representatives to apply and enter into the Grant Agreement and legally bind the organisation. Parochial Church Councils and Parish Councils have their governing arrangements for this, which should be followed.
The project will not be completed before a decision has been made, which is usually 8 – 10 weeks from the closing date, as we cannot pay for retrospective costs.
They have not received any Minimal Financial Assistance, more than £315,000 in this financial year and/or in the previous two financial years. The organisation is to provide relevant evidence if a subsidy / Minimal Financial Assistance has been received.

Important information – read before you apply

All projects must be completed before 31 January 2026.
Please ensure you read our Grants policy, Standard conditions, Capital expenditure and Sustainability documents before applying.
Applications are welcome under four themes. Applications need to be in one of the intervention areas detailed in the bullets under each theme. These can be found in our Grants policy.
REPF funding cannot be used for retrospective costs. It can only be used for costs that are incurred after our funding decision is made.
We cannot support projects that are also applying to South Oxfordshire District Council’s Capital Grant scheme for 2025/26.
Funding decisions will be made in September 2025.