A new £500,000 funding programme to support community-led projects in rural Cumbria is being announced today by The Royal Countryside Fund, in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund.  

The fund launches on August 1 and is seeking applications from organisations that have the potential to ‘power up, not prop up’ rural communities.

The initiative aims to revitalise areas by funding original, innovative projects that address the unique challenges and opportunities they face. 

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Figures show that the average wage in rural areas is 7.5% less than the urban equivalent, yet residents must spend up to 20% more on everyday items like fuel and transport, while many living in rural communities also face hidden levels of hardship such as loneliness and isolation. 

£250,000 is available to support rural community-led activities in each Cumbria and Northumberland. Individual organisations can apply for up to £30,000 each over a period of 18 months to deliver activities designed to boost economic, environmental or social stability.

Applications are encouraged from projects which have the potential to provide financial benefits to the locality, build a stronger sense of community and connectedness and/or increase environmental sustainability.  

(Image: The Royal Countryside Fund) Keith Halstead, Executive Director of The Royal Countryside Fund, said: "There is huge untapped potential within rural communities to drive economic prosperity and find innovative solutions to environmental and social challenges. This funding opportunity aims to support transformative initiatives that will truly inspire change in rural parts of Cumbria and Northumberland." 

The Royal Countryside Fund has so far invested more than £12 million in over 500 rural community-led projects, including a highly innovative and impactful project in Cumbria.

Case study Grizedale Arts and The Farmers Arms

A project in collaboration with the community which turned an old pub into a rural hub, creating a local space for creative and business projects to run as well as hosting training events and volunteer placements for local people. 

Adam Sutherland, director of Grizedale Arts, said: "This wasn’t just about us saving a pub, it was about coming up with a way that existing resources could be better used, combining and collaborating to make more of what we all already have.

"The long-term plan is for how this can benefit and build new communities, reinvigorate and reinvent for a vibrant future. We have, between us, created a dynamic, creative hub that not only provides educational opportunities, talks, events and exhibitions but also employment and new models of employment, designed for how we live in and understand rural places.

"It would be brilliant to develop this blueprint with other places with similar issues, thinking along similar lines in the UK and across the globe."

(Image: Ian Wood / Wood & Co) The Royal Countryside Fund is seeking applications from community projects that will create tangible change, helping to do one or more of the following: 

  • Help provide financial benefits to the locality 
  • Build a stronger sense of community and connectedness 
  • Benefit the local environment, creating positive benefits for the community 
  • Create an innovative and replicable approach, addressing an unmet need within a rural area 

To apply, visit www.royalcountrysidefund.org.uk/grants to submit a short video and complete a simple ‘Expression of Interest’ form, explaining why the idea is needed in the area, how it will help the community, how it demonstrates innovation and the long-term ambition for the project.  

On Wednesday, August 7, the Royal Countryside Fund will host a webinar at 6pm for people interested in applying to ask questions and find out more about the fund and application process. Visit: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AuJSQyN7SmSGon0VsPwOwA