Basic services in rural areas

More than £7 million of RDPE funding has been allocated to this theme, targeted in two ways;

  • A grant to support projects from community and social enterprises for the improved delivery of, and access to, basic services
  • Advice and support for community and social enterprises that deliver basic services, in order to improve their overall viability

In this context, a community or social enterprise is defined as:

"A community or social enterprise is a formally constituted group or business which trades primarily for social purposes rather than being driven by the need to maximise profits. Whilst governance and legal structures will vary, they exist for the benefit of the local community, either to promote a particular activity or service or to achieve a set of socially based objectives."

Grants

A grant programme is available to directly support the provision or delivery of basic services. Where this would help to secure and/or broaden the range of services available the grant can be used for;

  • the creation or development of community and social enterprises
  • the development of community buildings

All grant requests will be assessed against viability, sustainability and value for money criteria and any grant offer will be based on this appraisal. Levels of grant awarded may exceptionally be up to 100% of the eligible costs.

How do I apply for the grants?

There are two stages to the application process.

The first is the initial expression of interest stage which gives potential applicants an opportunity to put forward an outline of the key ingredients of their proposals. This will allow them to receive feedback before they make a detailed full application.

The second stage is to complete a full application giving details of the project. Applicants with a well-worked up project proposal can submit it directly to the South West RDA for consideration. However, it may be appropriate for either the enterprise itself, or the project, to be referred to the business support or facilitation service, in order to improve the viability of the project before formal application and/or assessment.

Expression of interest

Full application

The postal address is:

RDPE Team
South West RDA
Sterling House 
Dix's Field
Exeter
EX1 1QA

Advice and support

Can I access the support now?

The full business support service will be available shortly and a project facilitation service, to help would-be applicants to develop their projects, will be available from March 2010. In the meantime the South West RDA will accept expressions of interest and contact potential applicants to discuss whether they require support to develop a full application.

Frequently Asked Questions

A series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the responses to them are available here. These will continue to be updated in response to new queries.

A blue bus driving along the road in Newent

Man talking to a woman and young child at Bridport market