BBC News reports that farms, pubs, and village halls across England will be able to bid for a share of up to £110m funding as part of a new scheme to boost the rural economy.

The rural England prosperity fund has been created as a "top-up" for councils to deliver as part of the government's levelling-up programme. The money will be available from April 2023 for schemes that create jobs and increase countryside productivity. The National Farmers Union says it will help "turbocharge" the rural economy. National Farmers Union President Minette Batters told BBC News the money was a "substantial investment" into rural areas that would help farms become "diverse, multi-faceted" businesses. The UK’s £5B Project Gigabit gives out first contract to connect rural areas to high-speed broadband. The fund, announced on Saturday, has been set up after a cross-party group of MPs and peers - the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Rural Powerhouse - published a report in April that found the rural economy was 18% less productive than the national average. It called for funding to be specifically ring-fenced for rural communities. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said the report had heavily influenced the government's decision to set up the new rural prosperity fund.

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BBC - Rural economy to be turbocharged by £110m funding pot, farmers' union says