About the Bucks Rural Business Grant (BRBG)

The Bucks Rural Business Grant (BRBG) is a capital grants programme for rural businesses funded through the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) by DEFRA. It follows on from the previous EU funded LEADER programme and Rural Development Programme for England Growth Programme.

View more about the national Rural Development Programme on GOV.UK.

We have been awarded £1.8 million to help support rural businesses with grants towards building costs and equipment.

We developed our Investment Plan in consultation with partners and stakeholders across Buckinghamshire. As we continue with the Investment Plan, we will speak to organisations and individuals to help shape, develop and promote our use of the BRBG funding.

We have chosen to focus the funding on the Supporting Rural Business investment priority:

Funding (capital grants) for small scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas. Including capital funding for net zero infrastructure for rural businesses, and diversification of farm businesses outside of agriculture to encourage start up, expansion or scale up of these businesses where this involves converting farm buildings into other commercial or business uses.

Through this intervention we are committed to ensuring rural businesses receive financial support, creating opportunities for businesses to:

• start
• grow
• increase employment opportunities

Our funding allocations over the 2-year period is as follows:

You will need to submit an expression of interest outlining the details of your project. This will be reviewed and if the project is eligible you will be invited to complete an application.

Support for completing applications will be provided through Buckinghamshire Business First.

Check if your business is eligible and the guidelines before you apply:

• grants will be from £2,500 to £300,000
• grants will initially be offered at 40% of the total eligible project value
• new or established businesses can apply
• projects will need to be within an eligible geographic area
• projects need to be new and cannot have started already (no retrospective funding)
• projects will need to be approved before expenditure can be incurred
• businesses applying must be micro to small enterprises (0 to 50 employees with a turnover of less than €10 million)

For Rural Fund purposes, rural areas are:

• towns, villages and hamlets with populations below 10,000 and the wider countryside
• market or ‘hub towns’ with populations of up to 30,000 that serve their surrounding rural areas as centres of employment and in providing services

Use our interactive map to check if you are located within an eligible area.

The fund is for rural businesses with typical projects including (but not limited to):

• farm diversification
• tourism projects
• community groups
• foresters
• other rural enterprises

Complete an expression of interest to outline details of your business and what the funding will be used towards.

In addition to the BRBG funding, we have also been awarded £5.8 million of funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, of which £1.9 million is to help support businesses across Buckinghamshire.

View our privacy notice for the BRBG.

Email [email protected]