Funding for businesses in rural areas
If your business is in a rural area, or if you work closely with food producers, you could be eligible for funding from The Rural Development Programme for England.
There are two different types of funding depending on the kind of business activity you’re involved in and what stage your business is at - click the links below for further details. And just in case you were wondering, you don’t need to be running a farm to be eligible - any business that’s based in a rural postcode can apply.
As Yorkshire’s development agency, Yorkshire Forward is responsible for delivering the benefits of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) in our region.
RDPE allocates money provided for rural development in England by the European Community (via EAFRD) and Defra. RDPE will run from 2007-2013 and enables Yorkshire Forward to invest £63m across our region (from a national budget of £3.9bn).
Under RDPE, Yorkshire Forward can offer grant investment through:
We also provide other programmes to support the development of rural services and skills, and the dissemination of information.
Contact
To discuss the Rural Enterprise Investment Programme (REIP) please contact:
Louise Hardcastle
West Yorkshire Rural Business Facilitator
E-mail. (Louise.Hardcastle@Defra.gsi.gov.uk)
Tel. 07896809050
Chris Franklin
South Yorkshire and Humber Rural Business Facilitator
E-mail. (Christopher.Franklin@Defra.gsi.gov.uk)
Tel. 07966 622059
Andy Pickard
North Yorkshire Rural Business Facilitator
E-mail. (Andy.Pickard@Defra.gsi.gov.uk)
Tel. 07896 809070
To discuss the Farm Resource Efficiency Programme (FREP) please contact:
Vicky Wren
FREP Facilitator
CO2 Sense Ltd
Email: (vicky.wren@co2sense.org.uk)
Tel: 0113 237 8461
Rural Enterprise Investment Programme (REIP)
REIP is a package of support for rural businesses wanting to start up or expand, which need to access over £25,000 of public funding to take their businesses forward.
The Farm Resource Efficiency Programme (FREP)
Farmers in Yorkshire & Humber can apply to Yorkshire Forward for funding to help them invest in technology—which will benefit their profitability as well as the environment.
