Purpose

To agree the investment plan for the Council's
2025/26 allocation of Rural England Prosperity Fund

Decision

In February 2025, formal
approval was obtained for South Holland’s UK Shared
Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for the 2025-26, which following
submission was approved by the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County
Authority in early April.
 
Subsequent to the approval of
the council’s UKSPF investment plan for 2025/26, the Council
has subsequently received confirmation from the GLCCA that, in
addition to the approved allocation of £1,054,110.00 in UKSPF, the
authority will also receive £209,919 in Rural England
Prosperity Fund (REPF).
 
REPF is a capital funding
stream made available to local authorities to support with capital
investment in both a) community facilities in rural areas, and b)
capital investment in supporting rural businesses. The
council’s 22/23 – 24/25 UKSPF programme was underpinned
by an element of REPF funding, and therefore the 25/26 allocation
represents a continuation of funding for the authority.
 
For 2025/26 the authority has
been allocated £209,919. Like UKSPF for 2025/26, this
REPF fund is being ‘passported’ to the council from the
GLCCA (who will retain accountable body status for REPF for
2025/26).
 
In order to secure the
allocation, the GLCCA require the council to set out and agree a
broad investment plan for the funding. This paper seeks agreement
for a investment plan based around the following
principles;
 

A 50/50
split in funding allocations between the two key themes of the
fund:

Capital
investment in community facilities in rural areas
Capital
investment in supporting rural businesses

For those
funds to be administered through the council’s two existing,
leading programmes in those two themes, those being;

£104,959 (50%) of the funds to be earmarked for the
Lincolnshire Community Foundation Grassroots scheme, which provides
community groups and parish councils with capital grants for
community investment up to a value of £25,000.
£104,960 earmarked for the Grants4Growth programme, which
provides businesses with up to a 30% contribution towards capital
investment in activity that directly unlocks business growth e.g.
equipment

Both
allocations would serve to bolster both schemes in the context of
the main UKSPF programme 2025/26.
The
approach set out above would form an addendum to the UKSPF
investment plan for 2025/26 that was submitted to the GLCCA in
February.  

 
The urgency is driven by short
deadlines to respond to the request from the GLCCA, and to submit
the required amendments to the UKSPF investment plan (reflecting
the addition of REPF) within the timescales required.