Rural England Prosperity Fund has made £482,495 available over two years to fund a local grant scheme.
We call this scheme rural grants and aimed it at East Hampshire businesses and community groups looking to apply for capital grants to support rural business and infrastructure.
Grants awarded through the Rural Grant scheme in 2024
In year two, we had an allocation of £294,370 which was spread across nine projects.
Alton Arts Festival, £29,587 - audio visual and events equipment to facilitate quality arts events in Alton.
Alton Town Council, £27,358 - all-weather, permanent canopy at Alton Public Gardens for community events.
Beech Culture Hub, £35,367 - audio visual equipment, new seating and tables for community events in Beech.
Birdworld, £50,000 - repaving key areas to improve accessibility to a key tourist attraction in East Hampshire.
Cardiac Rehab Aircool and Outdoor Exercise Area, £50,000 - installing air cooling units in two rooms to enable better use for exercise and hiring for external meetings and providing an improved exercise area for outdoor rehabilitation programmes.
Horndean Green Trail, £35,000 - noticeboards, map displays and sculptures at key locations along the new trail in Horndean.
Passfield Community Events and Dining Project, £21,000 - new furniture and audio visual equipment.
Queen Elizabeth Country Park Visitor Welfare, £22,000 - modular building for showers and changing rooms.
Sustainability Centre, £31,200 - Shepherds Hut to generate visitors to a key tourist attraction in East Hampshire.
Grants awarded through the Rural Grant scheme in 2023
In year one, we used our allocation to fund six projects totalling £188,125.
Alton Town Council, £46,705 - Jane Austen memorial garden. This project will put in place paving to make the garden accessible and new covered seating areas, complemented by a Regency style planting scheme and a bespoke Jane Austen statue.
Butser Ancient Farm, £50,000 - upgrading roads, parking, paths and accessibility. The current parking and pathways isn’t currently as accessible as the visitors require, and these practical improvements will enable more people to access the positive physical and mental effects being in nature will bring.
Chawton House £10,102 - enhancing the barn for event use. Dyers Barn sits at the end of the drive to Chawton House, next to the public car park. With improved off-grid power source, improved lighting and facilities it can be used for more community and visitor events.
Gilbert White and the Oates Collections, in Selborne £41,455 - this grant fund will go towards the UK’s first ‘eco light festival’ which will place sustainability at the forefront of the experience and bring to life Gilbert White’s work as the ‘father of ecology’.
Passfield Social Club, £35,698 - a new community kitchen will allow the club to entertain a wider breadth of the local community, while attracting new ventures (such as bidding for a mobile banking space).
Stroud Village Hall, £9,616 - improved facilities in its function room to increase the number of people it can entertain and improve the quality of the entertainment it provides.