COMMUNITIES in rural Hampshire are being offered the chance to bid for funding from Hampshire County Council for small-scale projects.

The authority is running two schemes to specifically help rural areas – the rural retailers and community enterprises grant and the Community Challenge Fund (CCF).

There are grants of up to £20,000 available under the former which has been set up to provide financial support to help rural retailers grow, increase their productivity and provide new services, as well as encourage the development of both new and existing community enterprises.

Groups can also apply for grants of up to £5,000 under the CCF?which will support volunteering, access to transport and help with mobile and broadband availability.

Under this scheme, larger grants are also available to support community-led flood alleviation schemes.

Council rural affairs champion Edward Heron said: “There is some great work being done in Hampshire’s rural communities by retailers and groups making sure their businesses can thrive and towns and villages remain accessible, vibrant, sustainable places to live in the 21st Century. We’ve also invested in rural communities with a range of schemes to benefit residents.

“In recent years, we’ve been able to help with grants for initiatives such as free IT sessions, advice on how to reduce heat loss at home, establishing a community pub and improving drainage to help prevent future flooding.

“I’m pleased Hampshire County Council’s size and capacity allows for us to make funding available to enable us to support more worthwhile projects this year, across the county as a whole.”

Other schemes include the small grants scheme, countryside access, the community buildings fund, the culture and community activity, community transport and the valuing Hampshire communities grants.

For more details call (01962) 846571 or email jennie. [email protected] or [email protected]