I am delighted that Devon and Somerset will benefit from £7,470,142 of new funding from the Conservative Government to support local businesses and create jobs to grow the rural economy.
The Conservative Government is investing £110 million in to local areas through the Rural England Prosperity Fund, a top-up of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Eligible councils will begin to deliver on their plans in the coming weeks and receive the extra investment between 2023 and 2025. Projects benefitting from the additional funding will improve community facilities and support arts and culture to grow local tourism.
Agricultural businesses looking to expand their remit and rural businesses looking to launch or grow will also receive investment. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund gives local leaders more say over the spending of funds in their area than previous EU funding for rural areas and is delivering on the commitment to allow England to take back control of its own growth investment. The extra funding builds on the Conservative Government’s commitment to level up rural areas by delivering major upgrades to connectivity through Project Gigabit. The share of rural premises with access to gigabit-capable connects has already increased by 11 per cent since January 2021 alone.
