Document

Guidance for applicants applying to the Horsham District Rural England Prosperity Fund

Contact: Economic Development Team

Email: RuralEnglandProsperityFund@horsham.gov.uk

1. Investment Priorities

The Rural England Prosperity Fund has 2 Investment priorities.

Supporting Local Business
Community and Place

Read the prospectus on GOV.UK

To be funded a project must address at least one of these priorities.

See the full list of interventions which can be funded

2. What is REPF?

Central Government, under its Shared Prosperity Fund has allocated rural Local Authorities, including Horsham District, top up funds for their rural economies. Local Authorities can allocate grant funding to local businesses and organisations to help them carry out projects which create jobs, help the business to grow and which benefit the rural economy.

Money from the programme is given to Local Authorities so that they can award grants locally to businesses and organisations that apply for it. DEFRA manages the REPF scheme nationally and will make the payments to Local Authorities annually.

There is no automatic right to a REPF grant and not all applications will be successful. Horsham District Council (HDC) will decide which projects should receive grant funding by assessing each application.

Amounts and allocations

Total Amount Allocated: £871,733 capital spend only, no revenue projects will be considered.

Expressions of interest are now closed.

2023/24 - Round 1 value 25% £217,933 – the round will be closed when all funding is allocated

2024/25 - Round 2 value 75% £653,780 - Last Expression of Interest 31 July 2024 or when all funding is allocated

Payment - one payment upon invoice in advance

Final invoices to be made by 1^st March 2025 to allow for BACS payments before month end

All projects to be completed by end March 2025

3. What will REPF fund?

REPF will fund farmers, growers, foresters, other local rural businesses and rural community organisations to help:

create jobs;
develop rural businesses; and
support the rural economy.

Applications must be for a grant between a minimum of £10,000 and a maximum £75,000.

Grants will be limited to a maximum of 50% of the project’s total eligible costs.

Successful applicants who are offered a grant will need to follow the terms of the grant funding agreement throughout the whole period – and for 5 years after the date of the final payment. This will be explained in more detail when a grant is offered.

If the terms aren’t followed for the entire period, HDC may withdraw the grant offer or recover some – or all – of the money paid.

4. Who can apply?

To apply for REPF funding the applicant, or their project or beneficiaries - must be in Horsham District but not in Horsham Town.

Applications can be made by farmers, growers, foresters, other local rural businesses and rural community organisations who are in the area. They can be:

private businesses;
public organisations;
voluntary organisations; or
someone who wants to start a business.

Applicants must be a ‘legal entity’ and able to sign a legally binding contract. Applicants can apply for more than one grant from the Local Authority, as long as they are for different projects. However, it should be noted that Horsham District Council will not offer more than £75,000 grant funding to any individual applicant.

5. Linked Businesses

The business will be treated as one legal entity if it is linked with one or more other businesses. The applicant therefore needs to take into consideration the FTE employees and financial information of any other businesses to which they are formally connected.

Two or more businesses are considered to be linked when they have any of the following relationships:

one business holds a majority of the shareholders’ or members’ voting rights in another;
one business is entitled to appoint or remove a majority of the administrative, management or supervisory body of another;
a contract between the business, or a provision in the memorandum or articles of association of one of the businesses, enables one to exercise a dominant influence over the other; and
one business is able, by agreement, to exercise sole control over a majority of shareholders’ or members’ voting rights in another.

6. Who can’t apply?

If an applicant already has public funding applicants will be asked to declare whether they have received funding from other public sources for this project when they apply.

7. Available grants

There are grants available for many different types of activity, but they must each support at least one of the 2 REPF investment priorities.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the REPF Team (using the details on the front cover) to discuss their project idea at an early opportunity. REPF funding is limited and will be prioritised towards applications that contribute the most to the Local Authority’s strategy.

8. Costs which can’t be claimed

The following are not eligible:

costs for standard agricultural equipment and inputs, like animals and annual crops;
costs of agricultural production rights and payment entitlements;
costs of getting any consents needed, for example planning permission;
costs that are incurred before the date of the grant funding agreement;
financial charges, such as interest, fines and maintenance;
reclaimable VAT;
any items already subject to national funding;
projects the applicant is required to do to meet a legal or statutory requirement;
costs connected with a leasing contract, such as lessor’s margin, interest refinancing costs, overheads and insurance charges;
salaries and running costs for commercial business applicants;
long term salaries and running costs for community or not for profit projects.
like for like relocation of the business; Note - if the business needs to relocate in order to expand it can only apply for funding towards the costs of the expansion.
own labour;
in-kind contributions;
licence fees, subscriptions and service charges

9. How to apply

The Rural England Prosperity Fund is now closed to Expressions Of Interest.

There are two stages to the application process – an Expression Of Interest and a Full Application. Applications are assessed at both stages and only the highest-scoring at the Full Application stage will be successful. Applicants will need to fill out 2 application forms to apply for a REPF grant: 1. an Expression of Interest; then, if successful, 2. a Full Application.

Stage 1 – complete the Expression of Interest Form (now closed).

On the EOI, applicants will need to give the following details about their proposed project:

their business or organisation details;
the location;
what the objective is;
how it will be done;
who will benefit from it (for example, how it will help the business to grow and create jobs, or what difference the project will make to the rural economy);
how it will benefit other businesses, including suppliers;
how much it will cost;
why a grant is needed to fund it; and
how much funding is needed, for how long and what the money will be spent on.

After the form has been submitted, applicants will receive an email acknowledgement within 1 working day.

The form will then be checked to make sure it includes all the right information. If information is missing, the application will be returned to the applicant to supply the missing information. If the complete application isn’t received by the deadline given by Horsham District Council, it will be rejected and the application will not be progressed.

10. How Outline Applications are assessed

Outline applications will be assessed by the REPF Panel and not all applications will necessarily be successful. The assessment will cover a range of factors including:

if the business and the proposed project activities are eligible under the scheme; and
how the project fits the priorities for REPF. REPF funding aims to increase economic activity including business and jobs growth. An application will not be successful if the proposed project simply moves activity from one place to another or replaces similar activity at either a national or local level.

Once they have assessed the application, the REPF Panel will either:

invite the applicant to submit a Full Application by a set deadline. (The invitation may include conditions the applicant will need to address); or
explain why the project can’t be supported.

If an EOI needs more work, the REPF Panel will suggest areas for improvement and explain where applicants can get more help and support before the application can be resubmitted.

11. Stage 2 – the Full Application

Being invited to submit a Full Application is no guarantee of grant funding.

If the EOI is successful, applicants will be sent a Full Application form with a deadline for when it needs to be submitted together with all the supporting information. This will typically be 4 weeks.

The Full Application form asks for more detail about the project - building on the information given at the EOI stage.

It will also ask if there have been any changes to the project size since the EOI, what they are and how they will enhance the project. Please note that if there are significant changes to the project a revised EOI may be required before proceeding.

After the form has been submitted, the applicant will receive an acknowledgement by email within 10 working days. Horsham District Council will check the form to make sure that it includes all the right information.

If any information is missing, the form will be returned to the applicant and the Local Authority will ask them to return it with the missing information, giving a deadline of when the missing information is needed by. If the detail requested isn’t received by this deadline, the application will be rejected.

12. Evidence to send with a Full Application

Applicants need to send copies of the following with their Full Application form:

details of quotes or tenders on the spreadsheet provided;
an explanation of how the project will be funded and confirmation of match funding;
financial accounts for the applicant’s business;
permissions, consents and licences required for the project;
supporting case studies, market research or feasibility studies;
evidence of project’s team experience and capacity to deliver;
any relevant photographs, maps, architects drawing or plans;

The REPF Panel expects applicants to get the best value for money for any equipment, so applicants will need to give a detailed justification if they haven’t used the cheapest quotes. Quotes may be checked against market rates. The following reasons will not be accepted as sufficient justification for why the applicant has not used the cheapest quote:

the location of the supplier;
the fact they have bought from a supplier before; or
any offers the supplier makes about future service or maintenance of equipment.

If applicants provide fewer than 3 quotes, they will need to demonstrate that there are no other suppliers available, either domestically or globally and that the quote or tender selected represents value for money and is fit for the purpose of the project. If an applicant is proposing to buy second-hand equipment, at the point of claiming their grant, they must provide a declaration from the seller that proves:

the original proof of purchase;
it hasn’t been bought using public funds in the last 7 years;
it meets health and safety legislation;
it has at least 5 years’ useful life remaining from the date of the final grant payment; and
it doesn’t cost more than the market value for new equipment.

Applicants must send copies of accounts for the business or organisation applying for the grant. These must include all the following:

title and introduction pages;
profit and loss statements;
balance sheets; and any account notes pages.

New businesses that don’t have accounts covering the 2 years required must send one of the following:

draft accounts;
latest tax returns;
management accounts; or
an opening statement from an accountant that includes expected income and operating expenses.

13. Permissions, consents and licences

If a project needs specific permissions, consents and licenses for the proposals to go ahead, the applicant must send confirmation that they are in place to the Local Authority. This includes:

planning permission – applicants should talk to their local authority to find out if this is needed; and
environmental consents such as an abstraction licence from the Environment Agency;
any other permission required for the project.

Note - If the applicant’s local authority confirms that full planning permission for a building is not needed, written proof of this should be included with the application.

14. Proof of tenancy

If the activity involves investments in immoveable assets and the applicant is a tenant, the landlord’s written permission for the improvements must be obtained where this is a condition of the tenancy. In addition, the applicant must provide written evidence of the tenancy agreement, including the duration of the agreement remaining if it is a fixed term arrangement.

It is the applicant’s responsibility not to make any substantial changes to the assets or how they are used and continue to use them for the purpose described in the application, for at least 5 years after receiving the final payment. In the event that the tenancy agreement ends within the 5-year period and is not renewed on substantially the same terms as the previous agreement, the applicant must contact the Local Authority as it may be necessary to repay some or all of the grant monies received. This will be explained in more detail, if relevant, when a grant funding agreement is sent out.

For evidence of the tenancy agreement, applicants must send a copy (not original documentation) of the tenancy agreement sections that show:

the holding address;
tenant;
landlord;
signatures; and
for fixed term agreements, the tenancy term.

The Local Authority may request to see a copy of the full tenancy agreement.

15. How Full Applications are assessed

The REPF Panel may need to contact the applicant to discuss the application or to ask for more information and may spend more time assessing larger or more complex projects. In all cases the REPF Panel will contact the applicant to provide an estimated timescale for their decision.

Full Applications will be assessed and scored against a range of selection criteria including those set out below.

16. Strategic fit: the project fits with the priorities for REPF funding

The assessment will determine how well and to what extent the project will:

meet the eligibility criteria;
deliver against one or more of the REPF priorities set out at the start of this handbook; and
benefit the rural economy.

17. Need for the project: what problem the project is seeking to address

The Local Authority will assess the extent to which the project may displace economic activity undertaken by other businesses. It will also check facts, assertions and evidence relating to this that the applicant provides in support of the application.