Rural grant help available

Eligible businesses are being urged to sign up to workshops which could help them get their hands on special funding to boost rural enterprise across the Marches.

The events will provide advice and guidance to any business which meets the criteria to bid for funding from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) growth programme.

There’s an event in Shrewsbury for Shropshire businesses on December 13, at University Centre.

The RDPE programme provides grants for rural business development, food processing businesses and those involved in rural tourism infrastructure.

The grants, which are funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, start at £20,000 and applicants can apply for up to 40 per cent of eligible costs. The maximum grant for business development and tourism projects is limited to £175,000, whilst the maximum grant for food processing projects is £750,000.

The workshops will provide in-depth detail of the scheme and help eligible businesses navigate the two-part application process – for which the first deadline is February 16.

To be eligible, businesses must be based in Herefordshire, Shropshire or Telford & Wrekin and fall into the following categories:

Food Processing Priority – can support businesses of any size in rural or urban areas across the Marches and has a maximum grant of £750k

Business Development/Tourism Priority – if you are a micro (0-9) or small (10-50) business, located within the rural Marches you may be eligible to apply – maximum grant £175,000

To find out more about the Shropshire workshop – at the University Centre Shrewsbury’s Guildhall base – click here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rural-funding-workshop-how-to-complete-your-growth-programme-application-tickets-80830037819?aff=ebapi