To recommend for approval the acceptance of the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) transition year 2025/26 allocation to the Council which totals £197,761.00, and recommends an approach to its spend, building on the successes of the previous REPF programme over the past two financial years, which aligns with Tendring District Council’s (TDC) External Funding Framework.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)    formally accepts £197,761.00 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund for 2025 to 2026;

b)    approves the allocation of £120,000.00 for the Rural England Prosperity Fund Business Grants Scheme and further approves the allocation of £77,761.00 for the Rural England Prosperity Fund Community Grants Scheme;

c)    approves the criteria for the assessment of grants for both Schemes under the Rural England Prosperity Fund, as set out in Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.1);

d)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism and the Portfolio Holder for Arts, Culture and Heritage to approve the award of grants to organisations under the Rural England Prosperity Fund in line with its sister fund’s (the UK Shared Prosperity Fund) criteria; and

e)    acknowledges that the documentation to accept the grant funding from Government will require signing by the Council’s Section 151 Officer, and which will be undertaken following that Officer’s consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth and Tourism.

Cabinet considered a report of the Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.1) which recommended for Cabinet’s approval the acceptance of the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) transition year 2025/26 allocation to the Council which totalled £197,761.00, and which also recommended an approach to its spend, building on the successes of the previous REPF programme over the past two financial years, which aligned with Tendring District Council’s (TDC) External Funding Framework. 

Cabinet was reminded that the REPF programme, established in 2022 by Central Government, was part of a wider programme which had allocated funding nationwide to Councils for locally led delivery. Funding had been delivered via the Multiply, REPF, and Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Programmes. The REPF covered the majority of the Tendring District, however Clacton-on-Sea and Holland-on-Sea were not classed as rural and were therefore not eligible to apply for any of this funding.

It was reported that the 2024/25 REPF had now closed, though a transition year had been announced (in March 2025) for 2025/26 ahead of the longer-term funding arrangement to be announced in the Government’s Spending Review 2025. 

Cabinet was informed that via an updated funding formula, this Council had been allocated £197,761.00 (made up of all capital funding) to be allocated to grants/projects across two themes in 2025/26, which were unchanged from the previous programme and were supported by sub-themes as follows:

• Communities and Place

o   Healthy, Safe, and Inclusive Communities

o   Thriving Places

• Supporting Local Business

o   Support for Business

Members were made aware that, with regard to monitoring, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) had issued certain interventions, objectives, outputs and outcomes, a copy of which was attached as Appendix B to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.1). Monitoring would continue to take place in the same way as previously administered, with six-monthly updates reported to Government via the Delta system. This programme allowed for spend, outputs, and outcomes to be reported to Government and to be signed off by the Council’s statutory Section 151 Officer.

Some of the standard questions from DEFRA for 2023-2025 had been as follows:

• Spend to date against the investment priorities and forecast;
• Summary of progress with an overall Red, Amber, Green (RAG) rating of the progress and trend, plus, short narrative progress summary update (250 words maximum); and
• Forecast underspend at the end of the financial year.

It was felt that, over the past two years of grant funding, the REPF had proven to be highly successful for both businesses and community groups in Tendring. The benefits for businesses had included:

• Revitalising pub kitchens, enabling them to serve home-cooked food, which had significantly increased footfall and popularity.
• Facilitating business expansion by providing funding for new websites, a machine tool controlled by a computer (CNC machines), 3D printers, ERP systems, and other essential machinery.

Community groups had also derived substantial benefits, including:

• Provision of special equipment for SEN children, allowing them to participate in activities alongside their peers.
• Upgrading swimming pool equipment, ensuring accessibility for all.
• Restoration of an old swimming pool for community use.
• Replacement of radio equipment for a local community radio station following an arson attack.

Cabinet was told that in years 2023/24 (year one) and 2024/25 (year two), the REPF had financed the following projects:

• Twenty-eight existing rural businesses, with a total funding of £359,000.
• Twenty-three new and improved community infrastructure projects, with a total funding of £251,000.

It was reported that feedback from grant recipients had underscored the positive impact of the REPF, with many reporting they had been able to “employ more staff,” “take on more work,” and “have been able to complete jobs more efficiently.”

The REPF grants awarded over the past two years were therefore expected to have a lasting positive impact on both businesses and residents of the District.

Cabinet was advised that, as a result of such success, the following two grant schemes were recommended to continue and to be open for applications for a period of two months using the same criteria, as set out in Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.1), and in the light of the Government’s expectations for the scheme.

REPF for Businesses £120,000.00

“The Rural England Prosperity Fund Business Grants Scheme” allowed for rural businesses across the District of Tendring (‘rural’ as defined by DEFRA’s Magic Maps platform) to apply for between £5,000 and £20,000 for capital works to diversify or expand their operations or adopt new technologies to the business.

Members were advised that grants must be matched with at least 25 percent funding from private sources (so, if the total project cost was £10,000, a REPF grant could fund a maximum of £7,500). Match funding could be either revenue or capital. £20,000 in grant funding was the maximum a business could receive from this Scheme, but it was not a cap on the total project cost.

REPF for Communities £77,761.00

“The Rural England Prosperity Fund Community Grants Scheme” allowed for rural not-for-profit organisations across the District of Tendring (‘rural’ as defined by DEFRA’s Magic Maps platform) to apply for between £1,000 and £20,000 for capital works to improve perceptions of their local area, increase use of existing facilities and support local community programmes. 

Members were made aware that there was no match funding requirement as standard, however REPF could only support capital works. £20,000 in grant funding was the maximum an organisation could receive from this Scheme, but it was not a cap on the total project cost.

All projects within both grants had to be delivered by 31^st March 2026.

It was believed that over the past two years, the successful implementation of the REPF had laid a strong foundation for continued progress. The strategic provisions established during this period had been instrumental in ensuring that the grants provided under the REPF would continue to deliver substantial benefits. Those grants were designed to maximise their positive impact on both businesses and residents within the designated REPF area. By fostering economic growth and enhancing community well-being, the REPF was poised to create a lasting legacy of prosperity and development for all stakeholders involved.

In order to ensure that the grants would continue to give maximum impact for both businesses and residents in the designated REPF area and to create a valuable opportunity to address the unmet demand from the previous funding round, ensuring that the needs of those who were previously underserved were met but also to enhance the overall effectiveness and reach of the Council’s funding initiatives:-

It was moved by Councillor I J Henderson, seconded by Councillor Scott and unanimously:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)    formally accepts £197,761.00 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund for 2025 to 2026;

b)    approves the allocation of £120,000.00 for the Rural England Prosperity Fund Business Grants Scheme and further approves the allocation of £77,761.00 for the Rural England Prosperity Fund Community Grants Scheme;

c)    approves the criteria for the assessment of grants for both Schemes under the Rural England Prosperity Fund, as set out in Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.1);

d)    authorises the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism and the Portfolio Holder for Arts, Culture and Heritage to approve the award of grants to organisations under the Rural England Prosperity Fund in line with its sister fund’s (the UK Shared Prosperity Fund) criteria; and

e)    acknowledges that the documentation to accept the grant funding from Government will require signing by the Council’s Section 151 Officer, and which will be undertaken following that Officer’s consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth and Tourism.