About the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF)
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) seeks to replace the previous European Structural Investment Fund (ESIF), a programme that integrates five main funding streams that support economic priority.
A total of £2.6 billion of funding will be provided through the UKSPF for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.
The UKSPF will support delivery of the government's Levelling Up missions under these three investment priorities: communities and place; supporting local business; and people and skills. For more information see the UK Shared Prosperity Fund prospectus.
Herefordshire's UKSPF allocation
Herefordshire Council have been allocated £7.3m of UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to support local communities and businesses over the next three years.
Our planned UKSPF investment aligns to our established strategic frameworks including the Big Economic Plan and Herefordshire Cultural Strategy 2019-2029 and partners may apply for funding to support projects and programmes that align to the objectives of the fund.
Lead local authorities were asked to set out their approach in an investment plan submitted to government on 31 July 2022. Our planned UKSPF investment plan supports our established strategic frameworks including Herefordshire Big Economic Plan.
We have engaged with a number of key stakeholders in developing our plans, ensuring our selected focus for investment is evidence based and demonstrates local needs, challenges and opportunities.
Herefordshire Sustainable Growth Strategy Board
The Herefordshire Sustainable Growth Strategy Board (HSGSB) will be the partnership/advisory board for the UKSPF within Herefordshire.
HSGSB includes the county's business sectors, public sector organisations, geographies, the voluntary sector, communities, and the chairs of other local stakeholder groups such as the Herefordshire Business Board, Skills Board and Climate and Nature Partnership.
The board will have a key role in the delivery of the UKSPF within Herefordshire. Firstly, the board has overseen the development of the investment plan, including identifying the challenges and opportunities along with the interventions and outcomes.
The board will continue to oversee the scoping of competitions and commissioning for delivery of the plan encompassing the project selection.
The board will also monitor and evaluate the delivery of the programme, and make recommendations to the accountable body for the programme.
Herefordshire UKSPF and REPF grants and funds
We have offered the following grants and funding under the UKSPF and REPF programme:
- REPF Rural Tourism Grant Scheme to support existing and new business growth in rural tourism in the county.
- REPF Herefordshire Visitor Experience Fund to support the tourism sector, through new business growth in the Herefordshire tourism sector, and encourage and support the creation of new jobs.
- REPF Rural Enterprise Fund to support new and existing businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy. This includes farm businesses looking to diversify outside of agriculture.
- UKSPF Business Enterprise Fund to enable Herefordshire businesses to increase their productivity and become more resilient through the adoption of new (to the business) technologies and processes.
- UKSPF Cultural Development Grant to help existing local cultural, historic and heritage institutions to strengthen their operation, enhance their visitor offer and put on more programming specifically linked to their sites or assets.
- UKSPF Cultural Programming Grant to support the delivery of local arts, culture, heritage and creative activities across Herefordshire. The scheme aims to increase engagement and vitalise communities across the county through cultural programming.
- UKSPF Festivals and Events Grant to support performing arts, the live event sector, local food and drink businesses, creative industries and the leisure and cultural sector.
- UKSPF Low Carbon Public Transport scheme to fund low carbon public transport which will reduce greenhouse emissions and promote lower carbon transport choices, and promote improvements to health and well-being.
Any Herefordshire UKSPF or REPF grants which are open for applications are listed under Open grants on our Current grants and funding page.