Funding to help build up rural resilience

PROJECTS AIMED at improving resilience in rural communities are being offered a share of £300,000 in a new round of grant funding being awarded by The Prince’s Countryside Fund.

Starting from today until February 21, applications are being sought for initiatives that can help to sustain rural communities, improve the viability of rural businesses and support both businesses and communities to plan for and recover from natural disasters such as flooding.

Grants of up to £50,000 are available for individual businesses and groups.

Claire Saunders, director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund, said: “The 550 projects put forward to our Recharging Rural research last summer demonstrated the extraordinary breadth of ideas that communities use to build their resilience, many of which our grant can support.”

The research looked at how life is experienced in rural areas and found that living in rural areas can make people feel “invisible”.

The charity’s grant scheme is intended to encourage rural communities to come together to improve their quality of life.

Ms Saunders added: “Our grants help to support a diverse range of projects often delivered by local organisations, such as training vouchers for young farmers, equipment for local abattoirs, overheads and staffing costs for farmer led networks, village shops and pubs, and development schemes for rural businesses.”

The Prince’s Countryside Fund was set up in 2010 by the Prince of Wales and awards more than £1m in funding each year to projects in rural areas.