A £1million grant scheme will launch on 23 January to support farms and other rural businesses to develop, diversify and grow.
The Growth Hub Rural Business Grants form part of the Rural Prosperity Fund for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and focus on activity such as nature recovery investments, improvements to the quality of existing tourism, food and drink processing and projects that grow the social economy.
The types of activity that could be funded include:
- Commercial activity linked to nature recovery such as wild seed harvesting.
- Projects from existing tourism or leisure businesses that will help to extend their season into the shoulder months.
- Capital funding for converting farm buildings to other commercial or business uses.
- Purchase of equipment for food and drink processing businesses that are non-farmer owned.
- Capital grants towards the establishment of rural community businesses.
Grants start from £2,500 and applicants must provide a minimum of 50% match funding and be able to cashflow project costs, as claims are submitted in arrears.
Expressions of Interest launched on 23 January and will be live for three weeks, closing on Monday 12 February, so it is important to start preparing your project now. The strongest projects will then be invited to submit a full application.
For more details on this funding visit the Growth Hub website.
https://www.ciosgrowthhub.com/business-grants/rural-business-grants