The Advertiser and Times reports that funding totalling £540,000 has been awarded to New Forest District Council to support rural businesses and communities

The authority was awarded £1m under the government’s levelling-up agenda last year, to be spent on projects such as town centre improvement.

The cash came from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a £2.6bn pot to be distributed to local authorities around the country over the next three years.

The money must be invested in initiatives which support communities and places, local businesses, or people and skills.

Now the council has received a further £540,115 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund, which is a top-up to the UKSPF and is available to eligible local authorities in England.

A report to the council’s cabinet, which met on Wednesday, said: “The New Forest Rural Fund proposals will support productivity and prosperity in the rural areas of the New Forest, and activities that specifically address the challenges faced by the rural areas in the district.”

The council’s chief planning officer, Claire Upton-Brown, said the money would be shared between business grants and supporting community infrastructure.

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The Advertiser and Times - New Forest District Council given additional £540,000 government funding to support rural communities