When it comes to accessing government grants, our team at Anglia Rural Consultants are experienced and well placed to help support you with an application.

Chair Emma Powlett chats about the opportunities currently available and what it means to you and your business

So, what grants are available for rural development?

This is a constant ask at the moment as we are a year on from the end of the Rural Development for England Programme that brought us rural funding from the LEADER, Growth Programme and Countryside Productivity Schemes.

The natural successor billed to these rural programmes is the long-promised UK Shared Prosperity Fund.  As of March 2022, we are awaiting to hear from the Government as to what it will bring. We are told there will be a ‘prospectus’ published in the Spring of 2022. Watch this space!

There are some Defra grants available at the moment for improving productivity and enhancing the natural environment.  They fall under the Farming Investment Fund. To Defra have run a first round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund and Water Management and Improving Farm Productivity. All these grants, for this year, are closed to new applicants. We await the launch of a third scheme aimed at Adding Value – again Spring 2022.

In 2021, DEFRA launched the Farming in Protected Landscapes Scheme (FIPL) that is a grant programme for farmers, land managers and people in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). It supports farmers and land managers in carrying out projects that support the natural environment, mitigate the impacts of climate change, provide public access opportunities or support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses. It runs until 2024. Grants range from 40-100%.

FIPL will fund capital projects that:

  • support nature recovery
  • mitigate the impacts of climate change
  • provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage
  • support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses

So, think outside of the box and see what you could get!

If you live in any of the areas below do get in touch with your ideas and we can talk them through!