UK Shared Prosperity Fund - background information
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK government's Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6bn of funding for local investment across the UK between April 2022 and 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. It replaces European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF).
The Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) is a top-up to the UKSPF and succeeds EU funding from LEADER and the Growth Programme which were part of the Rural Development Programme for England. The Fund supports the aims of the government’s Levelling Up White Paper and Future Farming Programme with investment for capital projects for small businesses and community infrastructure that help to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy and rural communities.
Lead local authorities have flexibility over how they deliver the UKSPF and REPF. Cumberland Council will use a mix of competitions for grant funding, procurement, commissioning or delivery through in-house teams.
Investment priorities and funding allocation
After the vesting of Cumberland Council on 1 April 2023, the UKSPF investment plans of Allerdale Borough Council, Carlisle City Council and Copeland Borough Council were brought together into a single investment plan for the new council, with funding of £2,569,325 allocated to Cumberland for 2023/24 and £6,731,633 for 2024/25.
The new investment plan reflects the ambitions, aims and approaches set out in the three original investment plans and the vision and priorities of the Cumberland Council Plan.
The Council also has a REPF allocation with £632,409 available in 2023-24 and £1,897,226 in 2024-25. Only projects in the former Allerdale Borough, Copeland Borough and the rural area of Carlisle City Councils area are eligible for support from the REPF.
Our investment priorities for the UKSPF and REPF in 2024-25 continue to be:
- Improvements to town centres and high streets
- Arts, cultural, creative and leisure activities
- Improvements to cultural, historic and heritage institutions and assets
- Support local community regeneration initiatives
- Investment in open markets
- Support the development and promotion of the visitor economy
- Impactful voluntary and social action projects
- Business start-up, growth and innovation
- Support to access employment
- Support to help people in employment access education and training
- Small scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas
- Growing the local social economy and supporting innovation
Local Partnership Group
A Local Partnership Group made up of local stakeholders from strategic organisations across the Cumberland area and wider region was established in 2022 to oversee the development of the investment plans and provide advice on the strategic fit and deliverability of UKSPF and REPF projects during the selection process.
Projects in 2024/25
In 2024/25, £8.5 million is set to be allocated to the council which will be invested in Cumberland communities directly through delivering local priorities, improving our places, and supporting businesses and people. The Council will also make available significant funding through its Community Panels, the Copeland Community Fund and the Cumbria Community Foundation, as grants for organisations to apply for to deliver against local needs.
Copeland Community Fund is supporting us to deliver the following UKSPF grants:
Cultural Grants (UKSPF and REPF): Recognising the role of local arts, cultural and heritage institutions, Cumberland Council is making available funding for both capital works to existing arts, cultural and heritage assets and revenue support for cultural events and activities.
- Capital Cultural Grants from £25,000 to £120,000 are available for works to existing cultural, heritage or arts institutions.
- Revenue Cultural Grants from £10,000 to £50,000 are available to support cultural, heritage or arts activities/events.
Sports Grants (UKSPF): Recognising the role of local sports facilities, tournaments and teams within our local communities, Cumberland Council is making available both capital and revenue grants to support local clubs, tournaments and community sports facilities.
- Sports Capital Grants from £5,000 to £50,000 are available for capital works to existing sports facilities.
- Sports Revenue Grants from £5,000 to £50,000 are available to support sports tournaments and team activities and events.
Green Spaces Grants (REPF): Recognising the importance of rural green and blue infrastructure eg. community gardens, green spaces, watercourses and embankments, Cumberland Council is making available capital grants for the creation or improvement of local community spaces.
- Green Spaces Capital Grants from £10,000 to £50,000 are available to support capital works in the creation or improvement of publicly accessible local green spaces (REPF)
Please contact Copeland Community Fund Team via info@copelandcommunityfund.co.uk to discuss your projects eligibility and request an application form.
- Application Deadline Date - Monday 27 May 2024
Grants of up to £35,000 continue to be available for landlords and businesses in Cumberland as part of a new High Street Building Grant Scheme. This scheme is ongoing and is still inviting applications at the next page of this guide on our building grants page.
Additional grants schemes are being managed for the council by external partners. Please watch our website and social media channels as these will be updated with more information, as available.
Keeping in touch
You can keep up to date with regular news, activity, sounding groups and other events related to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cumberland by checking this webpage, or through joining our UKSPF Mailing List by emailing economic.growth@cumberland.gov.uk