You will need to check that your project area is eligible using DEFRA's Magic Map. 

How to use the Magic Map

• open the link Magic Map
• click on ‘Get Started’
• click on ‘Administrative Geographies’ in the table of contents (on the left-hand side of the screen).

And then ‘other administrative boundaries’ and then select ‘Rural England Prosperity Fund’ as a layer.

• type in area within the search function or navigate the map to your area, and then select the 'identify' button, this is in the banner at the top of the map
• click on your area and a screen will come up which tells you if the area is eligible for REPF or not
• you can also search by postcode. Input your post code into the search function on the left-hand side of the screen. Please note that you will need to leave a space in the postcode, for example CB23 6EA.

It should be noted that some areas, in whole or part within South Cambridgeshire, are ineligible. These include South Girton, Milton, Orchard Park and Kings Hedges, Fulbourn, Stapleford and Great Shelford.

Please check your postcode for eligibility before applying.

Any organisation with legal status can apply for funding. The list below provides examples but is not exhaustive:

• micro, small and medium sized registered businesses
• social enterprises
• sole traders
• registered charities
• farmers, landowners, tenants with landlord permission
• rural community groups
• local Authorities
• Higher and Further Education institutions, arms-length bodies of government.

The fund will support Business Interventions such as: 

• funding for small scale micro and small enterprises for diversification
• start up or scale up
• growing the local social economy and supporting innovation.  

The fund will support Community Interventions such as: 

• digital infrastructure
• capacity buildings and infrastructure
• local rural green spaces
• cultural, historic and heritage institutions
• active travel enhancements
• rural circular economy projects
• volunteering and social action projects

The above lists are not exhaustive but demonstrate examples of some of the activities that the fund will support. These interventions are for capital projects only.  

Please see this list of interventions the fund will support for further information. These are important, please ensure that your project aligns to one or more of the inventions set out in the table. 

If you are unsure, please contact us at Sharedprosperityfund@scambs.gov.uk  

Applications will need to demonstrate how projects will achieve some or all of the following outputs and outcomes. 

Businesses examples:

• number of jobs created/safeguarded  
• number of businesses adopting new to the firm technologies or processes 
• number of businesses with improved productivity 
• number of businesses experiencing growth 

Community organisations examples:

• increased users of facilities or amenities 
• improved perception of facilities or amenities 
• volunteering numbers as a result of support 
• improved perception of events 

We have received an allocation of £350,376 for 2025 to 2026. The scheme will be open from July and will run until all of the funds have been allocated. 

Applicants can apply for a minimum of £10,000 and a maximum of £50,000 of funding for capital projects.

There is a match funding requirement for projects over £25,000, the percentages required are as follows:

For community projects: 

• Less than £25,000 - no match funding required
• £25,001 to £50,000 - 10% 

For business projects: 

• Less than £25,000 - no match funding required
• £25,001 to £50,000 - 25% 

Applications will be accepted until all funds are allocated. The Council reserves the right to close the application window once funding is exhausted.

If successful, payments will be made in arrears and on receipt of invoices for expenditure.

Please see the full grant policy [PDF, 0.2MB] [PDF, 0.2MB]  for further information.

Read our privacy policy on the Cambridgeshire County Council website.

If you are unable to find what you are looking for, or you wish to request a paper copy of the application, do not hesitate to let us know by email.  

As part of the application process, credit checks may be conducted which will include overdue creditors, bankruptcy, county court judgments and director disqualification. We will not accept deliberate manipulation and fraud. Any business caught falsifying their records to gain grant money will face prosecution and any funding issued will be subject to claw back, as may grants paid in error.

Our Internal Audit and Fraud teams will use government schemes such as the National Fraud Initiative to ensure the Council takes reasonable steps in prevention of fraud and error. Data will be shared with necessary organisations including the CPCA and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

A number of projects were selected to receive a share of the funding last year in 2024. 

Projects range from skate parks, to local playground renovations, village hall refurbishments, expansion of a community interest pub, a new website for the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey and sustainability initiatives such as solar panels for a village hall.

More information on some of the projects the fund supported in 2024 can be found in our press release, or you can watch the videos below: