The REPF will provide capital grant funding to:

• Support new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy. This includes farm businesses looking to diversify income streams outside of agriculture.
• Support new and improved community infrastructure, providing essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy.

The fund has been designed to be very broad ranging with the expectation that applicants will come forward with pioneering and exciting projects. FHDC will align the project with the most appropriate theme.

Below is the REPF investment priorities and the government’s missions, as set out by central Government: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rural-england-prosperity-fund-prospectus/rural-england-prosperity-fund-prospectus-updates-for-2025-to-2026

Rural businesses (sole traders, small and micro businesses) and communities in eligible areas can apply for Folkestone & Hythe’s Rural Grant Scheme, funded by the Government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF).

To meet our definition of a small or micro business, the business must employ 49 or fewer employees.

To be eligible for funding, the location where your proposed project will take place must be in a rural location. Rural England areas are defined as:

• Towns, villages & hamlets with populations below 10,000 and the wider countryside.
• Market or hub towns with populations of up to 30,000 that serve their surrounding rural areas as centres of employment and in providing services.

Using Magic Maps to help identify if your project will be in a Rural location:

Eligible areas for the Rural Fund can be identified using DEFRA’s Magic Maps tool, which is accessed via this link: https://magic.defra.gov.uk/magicmap.aspx

Here is a link to DEFRA’s Magic Maps tutorial video than may help you with navigating the Magic Maps database:  https://youtu.be/pw7xkccDu74utu

General Guidance:

Under the ‘Table of Contents’ expand ‘Administrative Geographies’ > ‘Other Administrative Boundaries’ > select ‘Rural England Prosperity Fund’

You will find a toolbar of icons at the top of the application. Select the ‘Identify’ icon and click on the location of your project on the map. A pop-up box will appear notifying you if the area is considered rural or not for the purposes of REPF.

Please only proceed with the Expression of interest form if the location of your project is classed as Rural.

Should you have any difficulty using the Magic Map database to establish if your proposed project will be in a ‘Rural’ location, please email economy@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk  providing the full address and postcode of the location at which your proposed project will take

Funding must be used on capital projects. This means grant funds must be spent on lasting assets such as equipment. This is a competitive grant scheme, and therefore it will not always be possible to fund every eligible application.

Due to the time constraints on this funding, projects must have secured the required match funding and have all relevant consents in place before applying for this scheme.

For Businesses

The REPF will support new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy.

This can include diversification opportunities, start-up & expansion initiatives & net zero infrastructure.

Examples of what the capital funding can be used for (this list is not exhaustive):

• Business diversification (outside of agriculture) such as converting farm buildings into holiday lets, wedding venues, farm shops, cafes, leisure facilities (e.g., glamping sites, equestrian centres), or other commercial uses.
• Creating or expanding local visitor experiences and leisure opportunities – attracting both new and existing footfall to the rural area.
• Help businesses innovate (outside of agriculture) & spark the launch of new enterprises – enabling rural businesses to grow their products and services and to help grow the local economy.
• Creation of multi-functional rural business units or hubs.

For Communities 

The REPF will support new and improved community infrastructure, providing essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy

This includes projects that foster a sense of local pride and belonging, through activities that enhance physical, cultural and social ties and amenities. This includes community infrastructure, local green space and community-led projects.

Examples of what the capital funding can be used for (this list is not exhaustive):

• Improve community buildings which can include upgrading and refurbishing facilities to enhancing via net-zero additions.
• Creating & expanding usable spaces for education, sports and associated uses.
• Improve community infrastructure – support for new and improved community infrastructure that provides essential services and assets for local people and businesses.

• New equipment to run new programmes in the community.
• New or improved digital connectivity at village halls or community centres
• Community assets – sporting provisions etc.
• Resilience infrastructure and nature-based solutions that protect local businesses and community areas from natural hazards including flooding and coastal erosion.

Grants ranging from £2,000 to £10,000 are available (and up to £20,000 may be considered in exceptional circumstances for projects that can demonstrate longer term impacts, wider benefits for the local rural economy and meet a range of objectives and outcomes). These grants aim to generate employment opportunities & business growth, strengthen community cohesion & resilience and improve local facilities and amenities. The grants are capital only, match funding is required and other terms and conditions apply.

Up to 75% of the project cost can be applied for by businesses, and up to 90% for organisations.

Please note that we are unable to fund any VAT, so this should be considered when costing your project and grant request value.

Applicants must demonstrate in their application that they have sufficient funds to cash-flow the project and pay for the project costs upfront.**

All projects must include an element of match funding. This helps to show commitment, better value for money and makes the funding stretch further so we can support as many projects as possible.

Please tell us the source of your match funding, this can be from your own bank accounts, crowdfunding, other grants, fundraisers or legacies. This match funding must be cash-based and cannot be time or labour or materials. The ability to provide match funding above the minimum level will be scored as part of the assessment process.

Please note than in the event of an approval, you will need to fund the project up front in entirety, then claim your grant sum from us upon successful completion and validation of the project. For more information or support, please contact economy@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk

**For community projects, there may be an opportunity for phased payments on completion of agreed milestones. This will be subject to prior agreement and outcome of which will be made by the decision panel. Please enquire for more information.

What you would need to contribute financially towards a project:

What we are unable to fund towards

This scheme does not permit us to give funding towards any of the following:

• Revenue costs e.g. salaries, rent, overheads, insurance
• Projects that solely seek to repair, maintain or renew.
• Applications from individuals – we cannot make grant payments to individuals.
• VAT: We are unable to fund any Value Added Tax.
• Projects unable to start within 6 months of the grant award date.
• Improvements to domestic buildings or that benefit a property which is not wholly for non-domestic use.
• Private vehicles*
• Own labour costs.
• Costs connected with any leasing contract.
• Consents needed, for example planning permission.
• Licence fees, subscriptions, and service charges.
• Any cost incurred before the date of the final grant funding agreement, i,e. retrospective costs.
• Items or projects which only benefit an individual.
• Projects that will displace existing provision.
• Activities that are statutory obligations
• Paid for lobbying, entertaining, petitioning, or challenging decisions, which means using the fund to lobby (via an external firm or in-house staff).
• Payments for activities of a party political or exclusively religious nature.
• Projects that are focused on securing compliance with legal/ statutory requirements.
• Contingencies and contingent liabilities.
• Bad debts and costs resulting from the deferral of payments to creditors or winding up a company.
• Expenses in respect of litigation, unfair dismissal, or other compensation.
• Standard agricultural equipment and inputs, like animals and annual crops.
• Agricultural production rights and payment entitlements.
• Purchase of equipment by farmers for food processing that could otherwise be funded under DEFRA’s Farming Investment Fund (FIF).

*Grants for the acquisition of vehicles will not normally be considered

In the event that you qualify to make a full application, you will be required to specify important stages of your project. These milestones give us an indication that you have carefully planned your project which will be monitored.

Please ensure you have considered the availability of contractors, ordering and delivery times of equipment, particularly anything that needs to be imported and uncertainties like delays due to weather.

Please specify key dates, for example: start work on site, order equipment, installation of equipment, start of electrical/plumbing works and so on.

In planning milestones, you will need to be mindful of the funding deadline – 31^st January 2026.

Using DEFRA Magic Maps to establish if your project location is classed as Rural

To be eligible for funding, the location where your proposed project will take place must be in a rural location. Rural England areas are defined as:

• Towns, villages & hamlets with populations below 10,000 and the wider countryside.
• Market or hub towns with populations of up to 30,000 that serve their surrounding rural areas as centres of employment and in providing services.

If you have a proposed project that you feel could be suitable for funding via this scheme, the first step is to use the Magic Maps database as described above to establish if your proposed project will be in a ‘Rural’ location.

Using Magic Maps to help identify if your project will be in a Rural location:

Eligible areas for the Rural Fund can be identified using DEFRA’s Magic Maps tool, which is accessed via this link: https://magic.defra.gov.uk/magicmap.aspx

Here is a link to DEFRA’s Magic Maps tutorial video than may help you with navigating the Magic Maps database:  https://youtu.be/pw7xkccDu74utu

General Guidance:

Under the ‘Table of Contents’ expand ‘Administrative Geographies’ > ‘Other Administrative Boundaries’ > select ‘Rural England Prosperity Fund’

You will find a toolbar of icons at the top of the application. Select the ‘Identify’ icon and click on the location of your project on the map. A pop-up box will appear notifying you if the area is considered rural or not for the purposes of REPF.

Please only proceed with the Expression of interest form if the location of your project is classed as Rural. We cannot accept applications where the project would be carried out in a non-rural location.

Should you have any difficulty using the Magic Map database to establish if your proposed project will be in a ‘Rural’ location, please email economy@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk  providing the full address and postcode of the location at which your proposed project will take place.

If the location of your proposed project is confirmed to be in a Rural location, the next step will be for you to complete an Expression of Interest form (refer to the next drop down box for details).

Once you have established that the  location for your proposed project is classed as being in a rural location, your next step is to to complete and submit an Expression of Interest form.

The expression of interest form will enable us to establish whether you fully meet all the required criteria specified by central government, and whether you qualify to move to the next stage of the process. We will strive to feedback to you regarding this within 10 working days. If you fully meet the criteria, we will invite you to make a full application to the scheme and will advise you accordingly. If you do not meet the relevant criteria, you will be notified accordingly.

Please note: If you are requesting funding of more than £10,000, you will need to clearly explain why your project is exceptional demonstrating longer term impacts, wider benefits for the local rural economy, and the range of objectives, outputs and outcomes you will meet.

Should you have any difficulty using this online form, please contact economy@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk providing a contact telephone number or telephone Andy Markwell on 07816 989171. We can also provide a paper copy for completion upon request.

Click here to complete an Expression of Interest Form

If your Expression of Interest form has met all the eligibility criteria for this scheme, we will invite you to submit a full application form. Where this is the case, we will send you the relevant link to the form for completion.