THE £110m Rural England Prosperity Fund announced last September promised help for farm diversification.

But in many Northern counties, including Cumbria, confusion surrounds the application process and the deadlines for accessing this vital funding, according to expert.

Tracey Jackson, Associate Director & Head of Environment & Forestry for H&H Land & Estates, says local authorities must provide clarity and action to enable rural communities to benefit from the fund. “We are helping hundreds of worried farmers and farming businesses to find the financial support they need to make their businesses fit for the future. This new Rural Fund is aimed at giving farmers the opportunity to tap into a new stream of funding to help them with opportunities to add additional income streams to their existing farming enterprise. But there is no clarity on what proportion of their costs might be funded, and in some authorities in the North, including Cumberland, there is simply no sign of any information on how to apply for the grant.

“In some authorities such as Westmorland & Furness, the process of application is so convoluted, and deadlines are so tight we have very little chance assembling the necessary documentation to meet the deadlines. All over the country, local authorities seem to be announcing major allocations of millions for REPF projects, but each authority seems to be taking a different approach to the application process, in some cases lengthy and complex, making it off putting for rural or farming businesses to secure their share of this really vital financial support. Our rural communities need this help now.”