Loddon and Test LEADER Programme,
£1.3 MILLION FUNDING FOR FARMERS, FORESTRY, BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITIES UP FOR GRABS!
Are you a farmer, forester or rural business that needs funding to improve, expand, or start a new business? Perhaps you are a community group, organisation or social enterprise looking to bring your ideas to fruition. Then come to us! Over £1.3m of LEADER rural funding is now available to support businesses, tourism, forestry, farming, rural communities, culture and heritage.
If your idea/business will bring benefits to the rural economy, create innovation, needs funding for set up/growth and could have the potential to create jobs, then you could be eligible to receive up to £50,000 towards your project. You must be located within the Loddon and Test LEADER area, which covers Hart District Council, part of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, the Test Valley and parts of rural Berkshire.
Grants awarded will be from £2,500 to £50,000 and will need to be match-funded. The money will be available for a variety of activities including supporting business growth, rural tourism, agricultural diversification, increasing farm and forestry productivity, as well as tourism, community services, cultural and heritage work.
To find out more, please visit the newly launched website: www.ruralfunding.co.uk. The website shows you the area we fund, the grant programmes we offer and takes you through the steps of how to apply. You can send us an initial project enquiry and we will give you feedback about whether this is the right fund for you and if you are eligible.
The LEADER programme is part funded by the European Union through DEFRA’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).
For more information on the Loddon and Test LEADER Programme, please email: emily.preston@hants.gov.uk.