Do you have a rural business or community group? If so, there is some exciting news, Maidstone Borough Council has been allocated £539,728 to spend in 2023/4 and 24/5 on capital interventions in our rural communities as part of the Rural England Prosperity Fund.
The Borough Council are on a short timeline to develop an investment plan and submit to government and so they would like your help and input as we develop our plans. The deadline date for grant applications is the 30th November 2022.
The government has identified two investment priorities:
- Supporting Rural Business
- Supporting Rural Communities
They have also identified interventions that we can choose and have to align our spending to:
On reviewing the list of interventions, the fund could be used to support and improve community infrastructure with a view to supporting ambitions to reach net zero.
Providing a grant scheme for Parishes and Community Organizations to apply for grants for their village halls and community assets to improve facilities with a view to creating a greener and more sustainable community infrastructure, for example introducing solar panels to reduce electricity bills.
The other area being looked at is to provide a grant scheme to refurbish/fit out community assets so they can become multi use facilities supporting community activities.
Rural community grants, examples
If this grant is of interest to you, please respond to Cllr Patrik Garten, for the North Downs area, on telephone number 01622 807907, or patrikgarten@maidstone.gov.uk
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