Issue - meetings
Rural England Prosperity Fund
Meeting: 17/07/2023 - Cabinet (Item 144)
144 Rural England Prosperity Fund 
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Purpose
To inform Cabinet of the approval of the Council’s Rural England Prosperity Fund submission and to endorse the approach the Council is taking to allocating the funding.
Recommendations
That Cabinet resolves to:
1) Note the approval of the Council’s submission to the Government for the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF);
2) Note that the first year allocation of £191,073 has been approved, with the second year allocation of £573,219 approved subject to compliance with the Government’s Memorandum of Understanding;
3) Endorse the approach to allocating the funding as set out in section 4.
4) Delegate authority to the Chief Executive to agree the details of the REPF grant schemes and to make final decisions on funding in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economy and Council Transformation, having regard to the recommendations of the Assessment Panel.
5) Delegate authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economy and Council Transformation to agree arrangements and enter into a contract with a third party provider for administering the grant schemes and providing support to businesses, community groups and Town and Parish Councils in delivering their projects.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The purpose of the report was to inform Cabinet of the approval of the Council’s Rural England Prosperity Fund submission and to endorse the approach the Council is taking to allocating the funding.
The Cabinet Member for the Economy and Council Transformation introduced the item, outlining how funds would be distributed. The Cabinet explained that the fund had been allocated by Government in two tranches of around £200,000 and around £550,000.
The Cabinet Member explained that the fund was intended to be complementary to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which has previously been reported to Cabinet.
The Cabinet Member stated that the distribution of these funds would be focused on helping rural businesses and communities keep up with more urban areas particularly in regards to connectivity. The funds would be distributed as follows; around £400,000 for the funding of grants to businesses to improve productivity in rural economies, and around £300,000 for community projects (including approximately £100,000 for active travel, £150,000 for heritage buildings and the remainder for community halls and buildings).
The Cabinet Member stated that, following consultation with businesses, the amount to be granted to an individual business would be between £5,000 and £50,000, representing match funding of 50%.
The Cabinet Member stated that the amount for village halls and communities would be between £2,000 to £10,000, with 20% match funding.
Members discussed the application processes, and the Cabinet Member stated that the application process would be as simple as possible. The application process would commence in around September or October and would be open for about six to eight weeks.
The Cabinet Member explained that village halls could apply to the fund for anything that would constitute a one-time improvement, such as improving wifi connectivity or installing solar panels, to name a few examples.
The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Tony Dale and seconded by Councillor Paul Hodgkinson.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet
1) NOTE the approval of the Council’s submission to the Government for the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF);
2) NOTE that the first year allocation of £191,073 has been approved, with the second year allocation of £573,219 approved subject to compliance with the Government’s Memorandum of Understanding;
3) ENDORSE the approach to allocating the funding as set out in section 4;
4) DELEGATE AUTHORITY to the Chief Executive to agree the details of the REPF grant schemes and to make final decisions on funding in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economy and Council Transformation, having regard to the recommendations of the Assessment Panel;
5) DELEGATE AUTHORITY to The Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economy and Council Transformation to agree arrangements and enter into a contract with a third party provider for administering the grant schemes and providing support to businesses, community groups and Town and Parish Councils in delivering their projects.
Record of Voting – For: 8, Against 0, Abstention 0, Absent: 0
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For |
Against |
Absent |
Abstentions |
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Claire Bloomer |
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Joe Harris |
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Juliet Layton |
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Lisa Spivey |
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Mike Evemy |
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Mike McKeown |
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