As the political and economic landscape changes in the run up to Britain leaving the European Union, farms and estates are considering their financial position. For many, the Basic Payment Scheme and environmental subsides provide a considerable proportion of the annual income. Whilst it is not anticipated that subsidy support for agriculture and the environment will disappear completely, there is no question that this income is at risk. Diversification may become a necessary step for many rural businesses.

For those rural businesses that have identified a diversification opportunity, help is at hand. There are several schemes available that provide funding to help meet the costs of establishing a new or diversified enterprise. Three of these schemes are detailed below.

LEADER

A total of &138 million is available in England between 2015 and 2020 under the LEADER scheme. LEADER funding is primarily focused at projects that create jobs, help rural businesses to grow, and benefit the rural economy. LEADER funding is delivered via a Local Action Group (LAG) and is available to local businesses, communities, farmers, foresters and land managers.

Each LAG decides which projects they will fund in their area. This depends on the priorities of the individual area, but all projects must support one or more of the 6 LEADER priorities which are, to:

• support micro and small businesses and farm diversification
• boost rural tourism
• increase farm productivity
• increase forestry productivity
• provide rural services
• provide cultural and heritage activities

The amount of grant funding will depend on:

• the type of project
• the size of the business, and
• the costs involved (not all costs of a project may qualify for funding)

The minimum grant that can be applied for is &5,000. The maximum grant will depend on the LAG but will typically be up to &100,000. Grant funding will normally be limited to 40% of the total eligible project costs.

Growth Programme

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Growth Programme supports projects that invest in building businesses, creating new jobs and growing the economy in rural areas. &120 million is available through three national ‘calls’ being:

• Business Development
• Food Processing
• Rural Tourism Infrastructure

The Growth Programme is aimed at small and micro-businesses and is looking to support high quality, high impact investments. The grants are delivered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), working with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP). Expressions of Interest must be submitted by 31 January 2018 and all projects must be finished, paid for and all grant claim forms submitted by 31 December 2020. The amount of funding available per project depends on the call and LEP, but is broadly at least &35,000 up to €200,000. The Growth Programme funding should be no more than 40% of the eligible project costs (50% in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly). Projects applying for funding under the Rural Tourism Infrastructure scheme may be eligible for funding of up to €2million, for 100% of the project costs, if the infrastructure generates no income (such as a new cycle path).

Countryside Productivity Scheme

The RDPE Countryside Productivity Scheme provides &40 million of grant funding for projects in England which improve productivity in the farming and forestry sectors and help create jobs and growth in the rural economy. There are grants for: 

• water resource management and reservoirs
• improving forestry productivity
• adding value to Agri-food
• improving farm productivity

Grant applications can be submitted by farmers, owners of woodland and forestry contractors. There are two types of grants for up to 40% of the eligible project costs:

• small - &2,500 to &35,000
• large - &35,000 to &1,000,000

The deadline for applications is 30 April – 3 December 2018 depending on what the grant is for. These grants are funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and administered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

Fisher German have a wealth of experience in securing grant funding for rural businesses and are currently working on outline applications as well as full LEADER applications for clients considering a wide variety of projects.

For further information email Rebecca Ruck Keene here