Drawn from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), more than £350,000 in South and £220,000 in Vale has been injected into projects that support businesses and community organisations.

Thomley, based near Thame, received REPF funding to create an Eco Woodland Outdoor Adventure and Learning Centre and an eco-friendly interactive water feature. An exciting site for people with disabilities and their families, the charity hosts activities to help visitors develop the skills they need to enhance their day-to-day lives.

Ultra-low and zero emission business Velocity Cycle Couriers has been awarded funding to carry out its OxFarm to Fork project, enabling short food supply chains between Vale of White Horse based farmers and Oxford University colleges.

UKSPF projects benefitting from funding so far include:

• support for the local visitor economy, with funding awarded to Henley Town Council, Wallingford Town Council and Thame Town Council for tourism projects
  
  
• redeveloping the councils' Visit Southern Oxfordshire website, that will work to support local businesses in the tourism sector

• the council’s Ride Revolution scheme which collects, refurbishes and redistributes unused bicycles to the local community, providing accompanying equipment, rider competence and bike maintenance training

• a community led arts project in Abingdon, run by community interest company MakeSpace. The project has delivered more than 60 workshops, ranging from upcycling and dance sessions to community exhibitions and mural painting.

We have other funding opportunities for South and Vale based organisations coming up. Keep an eye out for further details via our newsletter.

The second round of the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) is now open for applications from South and Vale based organisations.

REPF offers up to £75,000 of capital funding for projects that help to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy and rural communities.

The application window closes at midday on Monday 1 July.

Funding categories are:

1. Capital grants for small scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas
   Example projects include net zero infrastructure, diversification of farm businesses, creation and expansion of rural leisure and tourism businesses, purchase of equipment for food processing, and resilience infrastructure and nature based solutions.
   
   
2. Capital grants for growing the local social economy and supporting innovation
   Example projects include the creation of multi-functional rural business hubs, business infrastructure (such as broadband or EV charging points), establishment of rural community businesses, and equipment to support the promotion of local food and drink products.
   
   
3. Capital grants for investment in capacity building and infrastructure support for local civil society and community groups
   Example projects include net zero infrastructure for rural communities and to support rural tourism activity, community energy schemes, kitchens in community hubs (capable of supporting food and drink entrepreneurs to get accreditation for food production), resilience infrastructure and nature-based solutions.

Please read our Grants Policy, Standard Conditions and Capital Expenditure documents on our South and Vale websites for full information on the REPF grant scheme before applying.