Creating a real future for rural Britain: Improving, regenerating and supporting 20 rural communities across the UK.

December 16, 2021

We are investing £275,000 in 20 rural communities across the UK by awarding grants to innovative projects of up to £25,000 over two years.

Since 2010, we have empowered family farms and rural communities through our grant making programmes, supporting over 500 projects including 121 community spaces, 22 transport schemes and 118 training and skills projects. 

From investing in pubs as community hubs to funding healthcare initiatives, we are supporting schemes that focus on creating long term solutions for rural communities. The innovation demonstrated through these projects means that thousands of people will directly benefit from our support, creating a more sustainable way of living. We aim to make available at least £500,000 each year to ensure that projects that will transform hamlets, villages, and small market towns continue to flourish. 

Keith Halstead, Executive Director said: “The PCF wants to help projects which will make a real difference to rural communities, addressing issues which local people have identified and funding community-led solutions. We know from our experience that the rural projects we support build cohesion, neighbourliness and a sense of belonging, which are vital ingredients in ensuring sustainable and resilient communities. We could not achieve all that we do without the support we receive from the players of People’s Postcode Lottery and the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust. My thanks to both organisations for their continued assistance in creating a real future for rural Britain.”

Field Nurse, based in North Yorkshire, has been awarded £17,475 to allow them to run weekly health checks at auction marts, as well as set up a website and attend agricultural shows to promote their services. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Field Nurse has focused not only on physical health but also mental health, to tackle heightened feelings of isolation for those that live and work in rural areas. Our funding will allow them to both maintain and extend their important presence at marts and other agricultural events.  

Heather Harrison from Field Nurse said: “We are thrilled that The Prince’s Countryside Fund has chosen to support our charity. The grant will provide a huge boost to the field nurses and provides us with security for the future, enabling us to expand and provide more sessions. We feel that our support of the rural community will be needed as we enter a very uncertain time in the farming community and many farmers will be put under pressure which will impact on their mental and physical health.” 

A total of £275,000 was awarded in this round to 20 projects. The successful projects are: 

Age UK (Herefordshire) 

£24,960 

Ashwick & Oakhill Village Hall & Recreation (Somerset) 

£10,000 

Engage Wealden (East Sussex) 

£6,445 

Field Nurse (North Yorkshire) 

£17,475 

Grizedale Arts (Cumbria) 

£24,340 

Llanfallteg Memorial Playing Field (Carmarthenshire) 

£9,204 

North Petherwin Mini Badgers (Cornwall) 

£10,000 

Pub is the Hub (Wales) 

£25,000 

Raasay Development Trust (Ross-shire) 

£5,594 

Ropley Village Shop (Hampshire) 

£10,000 

Rural Health Partnership (Co. Down) 

£18, 375 

Smart Communities (Somerset) 

£18,090 

Abberton Rural Training (Essex) 

£9,990 

Connecting Communities in Berkshire (Berkshire) 

£10,000 

Seil Island Community Hall Charity (Argyll and Bute) 

£7,360 

Tees Valley Wildlife Trust (North Yorkshire) 

£21,760 

Tier Coed (Carmarthenshire) 

£25,000 

Tunstead Village Hall (Norfolk)  

£4,386 

Kington St Michael Village Shop (Wiltshire) 

£7,020 

2022 grants programme will be open for invitations from Wednesday 2nd March 2022. For more information including eligibility and how to apply, visit www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/how-we-help/rural-communities/