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Rural England Prosperity Fund

Information about the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF)

What is Rural England Prosperity Funding and how does it benefit rural West Norfolk?

The Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk has been successful in securing £1,496,455 from the Rural England Prosperity Funding (administered via DEFRA). This funding will be used to address the extra needs and challenges facing West Norfolk’s rural areas through the provision of competitively awarded grants for rural communities and businesses and through the direct funding of active travel improvement projects.

The funding programme will run for two years from June 2023 to March 2025, completing at the same time as the UKSPF allocation.

How can your community or business access REPF West Norfolk funding?

The Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk is currently working with key partners to develop a West Norfolk Rural Community Grant Scheme and a West Norfolk Rural Businesses Grant Scheme. Further detail will be provided here in due course.

For further information on other Government Rural Grants and Payment schemes that you may be eligible to apply for please visit: Rural grants and payments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Which areas are eligible for Rural Prosperity Funding?

For Rural Fund purposes, rural areas are:

  • towns, villages and hamlets with populations below 10,000 and the wider countryside
  • market or ‘hub towns’ with populations of up to 30,000 that serve their surrounding rural areas as centres of employment and in providing services.

To see whether you are located within an eligible area for REPF, open the link to DEFRA’s Magic Map and follow the instructions below:

  1. DEFRA Map to show REPF eligible areas: Magic Map Application
  2. Under ‘Table of Contents’ select ‘Administrative Geographies’ then ‘Other Administrative Boundaries’ then select ‘Rural England Prosperity Fund’
  3. Search for the location by entering the postcode within the search bar (top left of page) or manually zoom in on a location
  4. You will find a toolbar of icons above the map. Select the ‘Identify’ icon and click on the location of your project on the map. A pop-up box will appear notifying you if the area is considered rural for the purposes of REPF

What can REPF be invested into?

Local grants awarded using Rural England Prosperity Funding (REPF) will provide investment opportunities 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.
  • Support new and improved community infrastructure, providing essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy.

REPF funding will be for capital investment only to be spent on lasting assets such as buildings or equipment. (Funding will follow the BCKLWN capitalisation policy by ensuring that all REPF investment contributes to capital projects).

For further information on Rural England Prosperity Funding please follow this link: REPF Prospectus.

What is the Rural England Prosperity Fund Addendum and how will REPF be invested locally?

The Rural England Prosperity Fund addendum for rural West Norfolk was developed as an additional document to the West Norfolk Investment Plan to guide local delivery of Rural England Prosperity Funding and was submitted to DEFRA to secure the local funding allocation.

An analysis of evidence was undertaken to specifically understand the challenges and opportunities facing the rural areas in West Norfolk in consultation with rural stakeholders, residents, parishes and businesses.

The following intervention priority areas for rural communities were identified:

REPF identified rural communities

The following intervention priority areas for rural businesses were identified:

REPF identified rural businesses

What could the local benefits of REPF investment be?

  • Jobs created
  • Jobs safeguarded
  • Number of businesses adopting new to the firm technologies or processes
  • Number of businesses with improved productivity
  • Number of businesses experiencing growth
  • Number of businesses increasing their turnover
  • Businesses supported
  • Farm businesses supported
  • Farm diversification projects supported
  • Micro businesses supported
  • EV Charging Points
  • Visitors or locals using charging points
  • Community energy projects
  • Improved cycleways or paths
  • Increased use of cycleways or paths
  • Organisations receiving grants
  • Local events or activities supported
  • Projects supported
  • Green or blue space created or improved
  • Facilities supported or created
  • Increased users of facilities or amenities
  • Improved engagement numbers
  • Volunteering numbers as a result of the support

How can your community or business access other rural funding?

For further information on other Government Rural Grants and Payment schemes that you may be eligible to apply for please visit: Rural grants and payments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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