Back in September 2022 the Government unveiled a £110 million fund to level up rural communities.

Rural businesses such as farms, wedding venues and pubs will benefit from up to £110 million of funding being allocated to support countryside communities across England.

The £110 million will be in addition to  to the £2.6 billion allocated via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to support levelling up across the UK. The fund will be part of the UKSPF and is a rural top-up for eligible local authorities.

The Rural England Prosperity Fund is integrated into the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which supports productivity and prosperity in places that need it most. Rural England Prosperity Fund funding is available from April 2023 to March 2025.

For more information, please click here:

£110m fund to level up rural communities unveiled – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

England Prosperity Fund: prospectus on GOV.UK.

As part of Rural Housing Week 2023, CFO have been looking at the relatively unknown and tragic topic of “Hidden Homelessness”.

Newbury Soup Kitchen have produced a document detailing the different types and reasons behind homelessness.   They describe “Hidden Homelessness” as follows:

Hidden Homelessness
Many people do not fit into a category for receiving help with housing or benefits – or simply do not go to the council for help. People in this category are often not accounted for on official counts, therefore are named “the hidden homeless”. They will often sofa surf, this means staying around friends or families houses, not always knowing from one night to the next where they are going to stay. Eventually people stop offering accommodation or hospitality so their options reduce. Many people stay in hostels, squats or bed and breakfast and overcrowded inappropriate accommodation.

For more information on this, please check out the Newbury Soup Kitchen website:

What Causes Homelessness? (newburysoupkitchen.org.uk)

An incredibly scary and desperate situation for anyone to find themselves in, especially the feeling of not being able to ask for help.

Continued help from local groups and communities, like the Newbury Soup Kitchen are vital. Even in the most rural of areas, there are wonderful volunteer groups ready and willing to help.

“Hidden Homelessness” is probably more prevalent in rural areas where the help available is not as obvious as in more urban areas.

It is important that awareness is raised, so that communities can be mindful and support those who need pointing in the right direction for help that is readily available.