Council Announces new Rural Business Development Grant Scheme to open Monday 3 August 2020
22nd July 2020
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has announced a new Rural Business Development Grant scheme under the Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation Programme (TRPSI) which will open for applications on Monday 3 August 2020.
The new programme is designed to support the sustainability and development of micro rural businesses across Northern Ireland by providing a small capital grant. It is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and administered and managed by the 11 Councils across Northern Ireland.
Speaking about the new programme, the Chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Chris Smyth said, “the Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation Programme’s Rural Business Development Grant Scheme is a welcome development to help ensure that small rural businesses are afforded financial support to enable them, not only to remain viable, but also to develop and grow into a sustainable long term business. The impact of the Covid-19 global pandemic has certainly brought great uncertainty to the business community and I would encourage as many businesses as possible to look at how they can benefit from this programme.”
A pilot scheme, which was launched in November of last year secured a very positive response. As a consequence, 15 micro businesses across the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area received grant assistance to support them to sustain and grow their business and it is anticipated that this programme will be equally well subscribed.
The application form for grant aid under the Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation programme will be available to download from Monday 3 August 2020. Applicants must download and save the document to their device before completing as information may not be correctly saved.
The closing date for receipt of fully completed application forms together with supporting documentation is 12 noon on Friday 11 September 2020.
Applications in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area should be submitted via email only to businesssupport@fermanaghomagh.com. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
For further information on eligibility, what is covered under the programme and how to apply, please email businesssupport@:fermanaghomagh.com or visit the Council website at www.fermanaghomagh.com.