Jonathan Djanogly, Member of Parliament for the Huntingdon Constituency, has today warmly welcomed £957,788 of newly confirmed funding for Huntingdonshire which will support rural businesses and countryside communities.
Jonathan Djanogly in St Ives
Provided as part of the Government’s £110m Rural England Prosperity Fund, the funding can be invested by the local authority into initiatives such as farm diversification, projects to boost rural tourism and community infrastructure projects. It will also help people start up local businesses to supercharge growth and create new employment opportunities in rural areas.
The confirmed allocations are spread across England, with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority area receiving the significant total sum of £3,215,148 which will benefit the county more widely.
Commenting on the new funding, Jonathan said:
“Rural businesses and communities are an integral part of the Huntingdon Constituency and help drive forward our local economy to the benefit of all.
“They do, however, face their own set of unique challenges, best evidenced by the rural productivity gap, and I am pleased the Government is committed to addressing them through the targeted Rural Prosperity Fund.
“Both Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire more widely is set to benefit from a significant proportion of the newly confirmed funding, and I look forward to seeing it being put to good use creating new local employment opportunities.”
Also commenting, the Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:
“Driving investment in rural areas is a vital part of our vision for levelling up the country. The new Rural Prosperity Fund replaces the bureaucratic EU funding system - allowing us to work closely with local leaders to direct funding where it is most needed to close the rural productivity gap, create job opportunities and protect the English countryside.
“This confirmed spending will allow local authorities to deliver on their plans to level up businesses and communities in rural areas from today, in line with their residents’ priorities.”