Rural Development Programme - Grants Workshop

Following previous workshops held last year we are pleased to announce a new workshop being held jointly by the Leeds City Region (LCR) Enterprise Partnership and the Rural Development Programme for England Network (RDPE).

The new workshop is for Micro, Small and Medium sized businesses who are looking for grant funding to help them to expand and grow. In the workshop applicants will be taken through the priorities for the funding including the process of going through and submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) application form.

The grants are from the RDPE Growth Programme and are available for investments in Tourism Infrastructure, Business Development and Food Processing using European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) part of the LCR European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) programme. Over £2m of grants are still available.

Grants from £35,000 are available across all three elements of the growth programme.

For the Tourism Infrastructure grants are available where investment in capital assets will increase the number of visitors, increase the length of stay and/or increase the amount of money spent in the City Region. Priority will be given where businesses can demonstrate that grant funding will extend the tourism season between October and March, create quality accommodation, footpaths or cycle ways, and start or expand events and festivals with legacy potential.
The Business Development grants are available where investment will create new higher skilled jobs, implement new innovative technologies, processes or equipment to improve productivity and competitiveness, provide wider benefits to the rural economy and allow farming businesses to diversify into non-agricultural activities. Priority will be given to applicants in manufacturing, health and life sciences and digital and creative industries.

The Food Processing grants are available where capital investment will increase the productivity of a business by introducing new equipment, techniques or technologies, implement automation in micro and small businesses and create new higher skilled jobs. Priority will be given to projects that bring new products to the market and open or expand new markets – including export markets. The Food Processing Grant eligibility does not require the applicant to be in a rural area.

The event details are as follows

Date and Venue:

The workshop is an afternoon session and will be held on Wednesday the 21st of March 2018 16:00 pm – 18:00 pm at the Old School Room, Haworth, Church St, Haworth, Keighley BD22 8DR

Please find the registration link below.

For more information visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/esif-rdpe-growth-programme-grants-workshop-leeds-city-region-tickets-43306963293