North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grant Fund

Funding Availability Update - December 2023

Due to high levels of demand for the North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grant Fund, we are now over subscribed for grant request in 2023/24 and the grant programme has closed to new applications. 

However, due the success of this programme, we are hoping to be able to launch a new and larger second round of funding from 1st April 2024.

The launch of the second round of funding will be subject to North West Leicestershire District Council receiving further funds from Government.

North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grant Fund

The North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grants Fund will run until 2025 to fund capital projects for small businesses that will help to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy.

This programme has been funded by the UK Government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We had received a total of £117,272 for 2023/24. This grant has now been fully allocated.

This programme offers capital grant funding for eligible businesses by providing one off grants of between £1,000 and £25,000. Applicants must provide a minimum of 50% towards the total project cost.

Eligibility criteria

Your business must meet the below requirements:

• Employ between 1 and 249 staff
• Be based in North West Leicestershire i.e. you must pay business rates and/or council tax to North West Leicestershire District Council
• Be in “A RURAL AREA for the purposes of REPF” - see DEFRA MAGIC map. Please note parts of Bardon, Coalville, Hugglescote, Thringstone and Whitwick are ineligible.
• Be trading as: Limited Liability, Limited Liability Partnership, Partnership, Sole Trader, Franchise, Social Enterprise or Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee.
• Not have applied for other UK Shared Prosperity Funding for your project

• Be in good standing with NWLDC. For example, fully paid up on any money owed to the council such as business rates.

Note that this grant cannot be used to fund projects or investments that would be eligible for funding under the following DEFRA programmes:

• DEFRA: Farming in Protected Landscapes programme
• DEFRA: Farming Investment Fund
• DEFRA: Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
• DEFRA: Farming Transformation Fund
• DEFRA: Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Improvement Grant Fund
• Any other DEFRA funding programmes for direct farming activities including contractors that carries out agricultural or horticultural as a service.

Advice on how to use the DEFRA MAGIC map.

The following is step by step guide on how to access the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs MAGIC map to confirm eligibility for the North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grants Fund.
As previously mentioned, that businesses in parts of Bardon, Coalville, Thringstone and Whitwick do not qualify as rural and will not be eligible for North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grants Fund

• Visit MAGIC (defra.gov.uk)
• Click “Get Started”
• Click on ‘+’ under “Administrative Geographies”
• Click on ‘+’ under “Other Administrative Boundaries”
• Select the box next to “Rural England Prosperity Fund”
• Enter your place, postcode or coordinates at the top of the page (a drop down box may appear for you to click on)
• Zoom in to your businesses location
• Select the ‘i’ information button in the toolbar at the top of the screen
• Click the location of your business to identify if your business is based in an eligible rural area.

What can the grant be used for?

We would welcome applications to support capital projects, such as:

• purchasing new equipment to modernise and improve the efficiency of your business
• farm diversification in to create rural workspace hubs or tourism facilities such as accommodation, wedding venues and leisure facilities
• investing in to low carbon equipment and energy efficiency measures working towards net zero 
• investing in business premises, new technology and innovation.

For full details of the North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grant Fund please review the North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grant Guidance and Eligibility (Word Document, 0.1 Mb).

If you have any further queires once you have read the guidance notes please email businessgrowthgrants@nwleicestershire.gov.uk.

When and how to apply

Applications are now open and will be assessed as soon as we have received a completed form and it is a competitive process.

Complete the North West Leicestershire Rural Business Grant Application Form (PDF Document, 0.34 Mb) and email it to businessgrowthgrants@nwleicestershire.gov.uk by 5pm on Thursday 30 November 2023.

The council reserves the right to close to new applications at any time.

We expect all projects to be completed as early as possible following you accepting your grant offer. At the latest, all grant awards must have been claimed within 12 months or no later than 31 January 2025. Any grant claims after this date will not be paid.