Community groups in Felixstowe and neighbouring villages are being invited to apply for up to £30,000 in capital grant funding for upgrades and improvements to facilities.

From today, East Suffolk Council will be accepting applications from local voluntary and social enterprise groups, as well as some small to medium sized businesses, for a £15,000-30,000 share in the newly launched Rural Business and Community Hub Fund (RBCHF).

The fund is part of the Government's wider Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) and aimed at organisations that provide, or wish to provide, a multi-purpose community hub or for-public-benefit facility offering access to a range of quality, cost-effective services.

Applicants could include existing village halls, local skills providers, business and co-working spaces, health, wellbeing and mental health providers, sports and recreation providers, and arts, culture and heritage providers.

Rural Business and Community Hub Fund guidance

Cllr Toby Hammond, East Suffolk's cabinet member for Economic Development and Transport, said: "We're excited to be able to offer this support for groups and organisations to help cement themselves at the heart of their communities.

"You might be looking to update premises for modern day use, make digital improvements to enhance connectivity in your community, or boost energy efficiency to support the overall carbon reduction of your organisation. If so, this funding could be available to help realise those ambitions.

"We're grateful to Community Action Suffolk for offering to support potential applicants with developing their grant applications by carrying out basic eligibility checks, business planning and activity development support, and application development support.

"We're keen to encourage groups to think as ambitiously as possible about the opportunities available to them through this funding."

Cllr Katie Graham, East Suffolk Council's cabinet member for Communities, Leisure and Tourism said: "This is a great opportunity for groups to strengthen community ties and boost resilience for the future by investing in the fabric of their organisations to help better meet local need. "That could include capital investment into developing spaces for community pantries, support groups, meeting spaces, health and wellbeing activities, or cultural events.

"We want to use this funding to further enhance and empower our vital community groups."

Prospective applicants can contact Community Action Suffolk for further support via [email protected].

For more government advice and ways to help with the cost of living this summer, click or tap on the 'Help for Households' banner at the top of this page.

The £110million REPF was launched by the Government last September to complement the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and help to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy and rural communities.

East Suffolk was allocated £1.129m, to be delivered via two separate strands – the Rural Business and Community Hub Fund (RBCHF) and the Rural Business Investment Fund (RBIF) – to small, rural businesses and community organisations between 2023 and 2025.

In May, the first phase of the RBIF was opened for applications exclusively from businesses looking to innovate, diversify, or fund net zero infrastructure, whereas the RBCHF will help fund works for groups and organisations, and some small businesses, to provide central hubs within their communities.

Today also signals the second phase of the RBIF for small businesses to access between £15,000 and £30,000 of capital grant funding.

Capital grants do not include cash funding and cannot be used to purchase a property, but instead comprise assets of monetary value, such as equipment, real estate and inventory.

Applications should meet at least one of the three main priorities of net zero, small and medium-sized enterprise investments and diversification, and agriculture and farm diversification.

East Suffolk Rural Prosperity Fund

For more government advice and ways to help with the cost of living this summer, click or tap on the 'Help for Households' banner at the top of this page.