Leicestershire and Leicester businesses and homes can now apply for the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS) as part of the government's £67million investment commitment to make a "full fibre Britain".

Eligible businesses and homes will be able to access the nationwide voucher scheme and be approved for vouchers worth up to £3000 for a small or medium sized business or £500 to residents, to support the capital costs of upgrading their broadband and gigabit capable connections.

This scheme is part of a wider government plan to get more homes and businesses connected to full fibre broadband and forms part of the Government's commitment to make superfast broadband available to at least 10 million homes and businesses by 2022.

Please visit our Superfast Leicestershire website for more information and instructions on how to apply -

http://www.superfastleicestershire.org.uk/gigabitvouchers/

The closing date for Expressions of Interest for the LEADER programme in East Leicestershire is Monday 30^th April 2018 for projects across all priorities:

Grants available between £7,500 and £75,000 for up to 40% of project costs in most cases.

1. Increasing farm productivity

2. Supporting micro and small businesses and farm diversification

3. Boosting rural tourism

4. Providing rural services

5. Providing cultural and heritage activity

6. Increasing forestry productivity

Expressions of Interest for the above priorities can only be accepted by 5pm Monday 30^th April 2018. A final call is expected to be open from 1^st June until 30^th September 2018

Additional guidance for applicants can be found on the East Leicestershire LEADER website: open-calls.html

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the LEADER team via email at: eastleicestershireleader@leics.gov.uk or by telephone on 0116 3056298.

Following the success and popularity of Rural Community Council's 2017 Awards and culminating in a celebration dinner on the evening of 11th October 2018 at Winstanley House, the 2018 Rural Achievement Awards will again reach out and bring together people from across Leicestershire and Rutland to recognise the achievements of individuals, community organisations, businesses and groups active within rural communities.

The categories for the 2018 Rural Achievement Awards are:

• Best Community Building
• Best Community Library
• Community Engagement Award
• Rural Business Award
• Rural Service Award
• Unsung Hero Award
• Young People's Award

Full details of our categories and guidelines on how to enter are covered within the attached guide (see link below) and can also be found at www.ruralcc.org.uk/awards.

You are encouraged to enter as many local projects, services, facilities and volunteers as possible. It would also be great if you could use this information along with the attached press release to spread the word and let other people within your community know about the exciting opportunity to enter the awards.

The Rural Community Council are really looking forward to hearing about what's great in your community and hopefully to rewarding the commitment and positive contribution of people and organisations in your area.

East Leicestershire LEADER Open Evening

18:00 – 20:00 Wed 21 March 2018

The Coplow Centre, Billesdon

An open networking event to find out more about the East Leicestershire LEADER programme and funding opportunities for rural businesses to diversify and grow, in addition to support for community and rural projects. If you have a project and would like to find out more about LEADER funding, come to our open evening and receive information and advice in relation to submitting an application, as well as other funding and business support opportunities.

Enquiries can be made to:

Maria Ramshaw: mramshaw@melton.gov.uk

Richard Erwin-Jones: Richard.Erwin-Jones@leics.gov.uk

To book a free place https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/east-leicestershire-leader-open-evening-tickets-42936639645

Farms, businesses and community groups are invited to submit applications to the LEADER grant scheme which aims to boost East Leicestershire's rural economy and create jobs.

The scheme reopens for expressions of interest on Thursday 1^st February

LEADER, part of the European Union's Rural Development Programme, was launched locally in 2015 to support rural business to diversify and grow across Melton and Harborough, as well as parts of Charnwood and Blaby. Grants are available from £7,500 up to £75,000 across all priorities. Applicants have until Monday 30^th April to make expressions of interest for projects that increase farm productivity or diversification, support small and micro businesses, boost rural tourism, provide rural services, provide cultural and heritage activity or increase forestry productivity.

Guidance for applicants can be found on the East Leicestershire LEADER website: open-calls.html

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the LEADER team via email at: eastleicestershireleader@leics.gov.uk or by telephone on 0116 3056298.

SHIRE Community Grants – Final Round Deadline: Monday 26^th February 2018

An additional deadline for Leicestershire County Council's SHIRE Community Grant has been set for the 26^th of February 2018.

Eligible organisations can apply for grants of up to £10,000 or smaller grants of up to £3,000 for community based projects and activities that achieve the following:

• support the most vulnerable individuals and communities in Leicestershire
• provide early intervention and prevention based solutions
• complement existing services already being delivered

Please note, for this additional final grant round for 2017-18, applications for funding will only be accepted for capital projects which closely align to the existing grant criteria.

Capital projects could include; the purchase of equipment, tools, machinery, vehicles or improvements to a building, which are essential to the delivery of your project or activity.

Decisions on applications will be made in March 2018.

The amount of funding remaining in the grant budget is limited. Therefore we will only be able to award capital funding to those projects which most closely meet the grant eligibility criteria.

Where appropriate, any applications not approved for capital funding in this final round for 2017-18 will be considered in Round 1 of the 2018-19 SHIRE Grants programme, which is due to open in April 2018.

If you have a project idea you think may be eligible for capital funding, please contact: shiregrants@leics.gov.uk, before completing an online application form.

For more details about the SHIRE Community Grant, go to: www.leicestershirecommunities.org.uk/grants, or contact the Grant Officers:

Email: shiregrants@leics.gov.uk

Tel: (0116) 305 7269 or (0116) 305 7020

EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND for RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Grant Funding Information Event, Thursday 1^st March 2018, 10.00am - 11:30pm

(Refreshments available from 9.45am and networking to 12.00pm)

Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre, Sutton Cheney, Nuneaton, CV13 0AD

http://www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/

In conjunction with the Rural Payments Agency, the Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership is holding an event for businesses and organisations wishing to apply for grants from the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND for RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD) and local LEADER Growth Programmes.

Three EAFRD calls are now open for grants of at least £35,000, which can support projects that relate to:

TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE; capital investments to help create visitor attractions, recreational and small scale infrastructure to increase visitor spend and attract visitors to stay longer.

FOOD PROCESSINGinvestments to support growth in local food and drink processing businesses and encourage innovation, higher productivity and skills development.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTinvestments to create jobs and develop new or grow existing micro and small businesses in rural areas. This includes helping farm businesses diversify into non-farming activities.

The Rural Payments Agency will be speaking about the national Growth Programme and application process and local partners will be providing information on priorities for local calls, including East Leicestershire LEADER and North Warwickshire and Hinckley & Bosworth LEADER, as well as other grant funding opportunities.

There will be scope for interested businesses and stakeholders to discuss in more detail potential projects and making application to the programmes as well as networking with other interested parties.

If you are interested in attending this event, please register at:

REGISTRATION - EAFRD Grant Funding Information Event

Revised RDPE Growth Programme Offers (EAFRD)

Revised RDPE Growth Programme Handbooks have now gone live on gov.uk (link to the page here) where further guidance about how to apply can be found.

The main changes in the Handbooks are:

• The deadline for receipt of 'expressions of interest' has now been extended to 31 May 2018
• The final date by which all projects must be finished, paid for and complete grant claims submitted is given as 31 December 2020
• There are now 3 offers open in the Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership area for funding of at least £35,000:
  • Food Processing grants to help rural food and drink businesses that process agricultural and horticultural products grow and create more jobs
  • Tourism Infrastructure to support projects that will encourage more tourists to come, to stay longer and to spend more money in rural areas
  • Business Development grants are for investments that create jobs and grow micro and small businesses in rural areas

The handbooks include information about each type of grant, as well as:

• who can apply
• how and when to apply
• which specific activities can (and cannot) be claimed for

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will assess all expressions of interest and will look for projects that meet the national and local priorities for funding and will decide which meet the criteria the best. This means grants are not awarded automatically to an applicant. There is a rigorous 2-part application process (starting with submitting an 'expression of interest') to tell RPA about the work to be funded and how the grant could help. If RPA assesses that an expression of interest is suitable, they will invite the project to submit a full application. Contact details for the RPA are as follows:

• Rural Payments helpline: 03000 200 301 (select the Rural Development option)
• Email: GPEnquiries@rpa.gsi.gov.uk

The closing date for Expressions of Interest for the LEADER programme in East Leicestershire is 12pm (Midday) on Thursday 1^st December 2017 for projects in the following priorities:

• Farming - Farm Productivity or Farm Diversification – Grant funding between £7,500-£75,000
• Support for small and micro businesses (non-agricultural) - Grant funding between £7,500-£75,000
• Food and drink - Grant funding between £7,500-£35,000 (anything above refer to EAFRD Growth Programme)

Expressions of Interest for the above priorities can only be accepted until Noon on Friday 1^st December 2017

East Leicestershire LEADER will remain open for Expressions of Interest for projects from the following priorities:

• Forestry - Grant funding between £2,500-£75,000
• Rural Services - Grant funding between £2,500-£75,000

Additional guidance for applicants can be found on the East Leicestershire LEADER website: open-calls.html

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the LEADER team via email at: eastleicestershireleader@leics.gov.uk or by telephone on 0116 3056298.

Collaborate Growing Business Together

Collaborate is a business support project offering free business advice, capital grants, events and an inward investment service to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Leicester and Leicestershire. We can support SMEs in the following sectors:

• Food and drink manufacturing
• Creative industries
• Textile manufacturing
• Low carbon
• Logistics and distribution
• Tourism and hospitality
• Professional and financial services
• Engineering and advanced manufacturing

Capital grants from £5,000 to £25,000 are available for organisations looking to grow, made up to 33% of the project cost. This could be used for premises improvement or expansion, computer hardware, tools or machinery.

Businesses must have been trading for at least 12 months and sell business-to-business. Eligibility criteria applies.

If you are looking for help to move your business forward, contact Collaborate for an informal discussion with a sector specialist, see more here: www.llepbizgateway.co.uk/collaborate

This project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and partner organisations: Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council, East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) and the Food and Drink Forum.

Keep in touch with Collaborate through our social media channels:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/CollabforGrowth

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CollaborateforGrowth

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company//collaborate-for-growth