The Rural England Prosperity Fund offers capital grants to support small businesses and community infrastructure projects in rural communities, to help to improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy. A total of £745,000 was allocated to the Winchester District over two years, with the majority falling in 24/25.

2023/24	£186,274
2024/25	£558,822
Total	£745,09

Winchester City Council assessed over 60 applications received through three competitive funding rounds and made awards of up to £50,000 to 25 projects as well as part-funding another 4 with the UKSPF.  

The following projects received awards:

Organisation/business	Project description
Round 1
River Coffee Roasters Ltd	Coffee Roastery Production Expansion: purchase of larger roaster
Oakridge Smallholding Limited	Farm Diversification into Holiday Letting: solar-powered shepherd’s hut
Itchen Abbas and Avington Village Hall	Ground Source Heating
Wickham Community Association	Improved hall equipment: modular staging and AV
Winchester District Scout Council	Barn project: groundworks
Round 2
Easton Village Hall & Recreation Ground	Solar panelling for village hall
Denmead Community Centre (CIO)	Solar panelling for community centre
Colden Common Parish Council	Solar panelling for Pavilion
Bishop's Waltham Minibus Group	Replacement minibus for community transport
Organisation/business	Project description
Round 3
Wonderseekers (Winchester Science Centre)	Perimeter fence for forthcoming Habitat playpark
OHCO Ltd	Purchase of electric tuk-tuk for mobile coffee catering
Melanie Legge Ceramicist and Sculptor	Top loading kiln and associated power supply
Shedfield House Dairy Business Centre	Construction of eleventh business unit.
Wickham Estate	Safer entrance, resurfacing and lighting of access track through vineyard, energy efficient windows for onsite accommodation
Winchester Golf Academy	168 x solar panels (74kW) + 50kW hot water inverter
Richard Lewis Communications Ltd	Installation of solar panelling and battery storage on the training facility at residential language school.
RAC Corbett, Holden Farm, Cheriton	Three mobile wooden shelters, two EV charging points and e-bike charging points for campers and café visitors
Victoria Hall, Sutton Scotney	30 Solar PV panels on east facing roof of Victoria Hall
Woodhams Farm Day Nursery Ltd	Balcony extension providing access to fresh air for youngest children as well as an additional fire exit
Upham New Millennium Village Hall	Solar panelling
6th Winchester (Abbotts Barton & Hyde) Scout Group	Mains water and electricity connection to Hillier Way Scout site
GKCE Limited	Kitchen, bedroom and bathroom refurbishment
Alex Graham Sole Trader	Solar panelling for airfield and associated accommodation
Young and Younger Inns Ltd	Kitchen, bedroom and bathroom refurbishment
Will Davies, stonemason	purchase of dust extractor for operating premises

REPF applications jointly funded by REPF and UKSPF:

Marwell Wildlife	Refurbishment of existing buildings to create new exhibits for white clawed crayfish and sand lizards.
Morton Pattison Ltd	Tractor with a cut/collect mower attachment for wildflower meadow creation

Durley Parish Council	20 spaces and EV charging points in car park
Northbrook Arms Ltd	4 EV chargers for visitors and local community

 

The projects above all match at least one of the following themes supported by the Rural England Prosperity Fund which are:

E3	Creation of and improvements to local green spaces
E4	Enhancing existing cultural, historic and heritage institutions
E6	Local arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities
E9	Impactful volunteering and/or social action projects
E11	Capacity building and infrastructure support local groups
E17	Development and promotion of visitor economy
E26	Growing the local social economy
SME	Capital grants for small-scale investment in micro and small enterprises in rural areas

 

The breakdown of funding per theme was as follows:

 

 

Winchester City Council received £1 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support projects from 2022 to March 2025.

The money has been used to help pay for projects that support the fund’s three priorities:

• Community and Place
• Supporting Local Business
• People and Skills.

Funding has gone towards projects that focus on the council's priorities, including: 

• Inspiring pride in place
• Helping the district to become greener faster
• Supporting a vibrant local economy

Initiatives that promote health, well-being and opportunity for disadvantaged communities have also been a key focus of the funding.

Following consultation with a range of partners and stakeholders, we determined to fund 27 projects and activities and all of these are in progress with some already completed:

 

The projects above all match at least one of the following themes supported by the UKSPF which are:

E1	Improvements to town centres & High Streets
E3	Creation of and improvements to local green spaces
E6	Local arts, cultural, heritage & creative activities
E7	Support for active travel enhancements
E8	Campaigns to encourage visits and exploring of local area
E9	Impactful volunteering and/or social action projects
E10	Local sports facilities, tournaments, teams & leagues
E11	Capacity building & infrastructure support local groups
E13	Community measures to reduce the cost of living
E14	Relevant feasibility studies
E16	Open markets & town centre retail & service sector
E17	Development & promotion of visitor economy
E19	Investment in research and development at the local level
E23	Strengthening local entrepreneurial ecosystems
E29	Supporting decarbonisation whilst growing the local economy
E34	Courses including basic, life & career skills
E35	Enrichment & volunteering activities
E36	Increase levels of digital inclusion, essential digital skills
E38	Local areas to fund local skills needs
E39	Green skills courses

 

The breakdown of funding per theme was as follows:

 

As part of the community engagement for Hat Fair, a newly-commissioned composition was performed by an intergenerational choir:

 

 

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, by investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit the UKSPF Prospectus.

 

Bighton: River Coffee Roasters - new larger roaster part-funded by REPF

The purchase of a larger roaster has enabled this small business based in Bighton to increase production and employ an additional staff member

Will Harrigan, Founder and CEO, said: "The project has allowed us to increase our production capacity. With this production capacity increase we have been able identify further sectors for growth. An example of this is a successful application and award for a listing on the TUCO supplier framework featuring in 5 lots. This framework gives us access to over 700 universities with the
potential to supply hot beverage products. Without the project and increase of capacity we would not be able to achieve this.
The project has supported an extra full time employment role at River Coffee Roasters, with the new employee learning how to operate the new equipment. The project has also
supported a part time role, taking our total employee count to 6 employees."

 

Bishops Waltham: BW Minibus Group - new minibus for community transport, part-funded by the REPF

   

Robert Shields, Chairman, said: "The funding has contributed towards a new minibus to replace a 10-year old bus that has become increasingly unreliable and very costly to maintain. The minibus has many scheduled trips linked to lunch clubs, dial-a-ride services and shopping trips, nearly all for the elderly and less able, so its constant availability is very important to the local community. The new minibus gives an assurance that this valuable service is maintained."

 

Cheriton: Holden Farm - mobile shelters and EV charging points for visitors to the outdoor cafe, funded by the REPF

   

Rebecca Corbett, Owner, said: "We are delighted with the field shelters that the Prosperity Grant enabled us to add to our café at Holden Farm.  The facilities ... are clad in wood; and it is all in keeping with our natural farm surroundings."

 

Chilcomb: Wonderseekers (Winchester Science Centre) - fencing and planting for a new Habitat Playpark nature exhibit, funded by the REPF

   

Photographs show before and after the new fence was installed, separating Habitat Playpark from the public footpath

The next phase of the project is to finalise the planting plan for maximum biodversity

Kate Wasche, Director of Fundraising, said: "Securing charitable funding for this project [will] free up Wonderseekers’ designated funds to pay for other essential accessibility works (lift refurbishment) later in 2025, which would otherwise need to be delayed until 2026."

 

Denmead Community Centre - solar roof panelling funded by the  REPF

In the first two months following installation, Denmead Community Centre was 80% energy self-sufficient and avoided emitting an estimated 3.5 tonnes of CO2

Bob Porter, Trustee, said: "REPF Funding through Winchester City Council enabled us to install a PV array at the Denmead Community Centre which will not only have environmental benefits but also reduce our costs enabling us to maintain and enhance opportunities and activities for all the residents of Denmead and the surrounding area." 

 

Easton: Village Hall - solar panelling, inverter and battery funded by the REPF

In the first six months following their installation, the 45 solar panels generated 72% of the electricity used by the Hall. 53% of the electricity generated was exported to the Grid - equating to income for the Hall of £814 

Dr John Smith, on behalf of the Village Hall, said: "Fitting the solar panels to the roof of Easton Village Hall, funded by the REPF via Winchester City Council, has been a transformational local project which we hope will inspire others locally to consider similar suatainable projects"

 

East Stratton: The Northbrook Arms PH - EV chargers for clients and local community funded by the UKSPF and REPF 

   

Kate Shanley, Owner, said: "The funding for the EV Chargers at The Northbrook Arms has enabled us to install four EV charging points at the rear of the car park. We have installed discreet units and landscaped around them to ensure the visual impact is minimum in this rural area. This has made EV Charging available to guests visiting the pub, staying in the cottages, employees and the wider community."

 

Hursley: OHCO Coffee Ltd: REPF-funded purchase of electric tuk tuk to add mobile event catering services to existing offer

Paul Taylor, Founder and CEO said "This electric tuk tuk will help us to service the local community with our speciality coffee from ethical farms that is manufactured in the most sustainable way from tree to cup."

 

Itchen Abbas and Avington: Village Hall - installation of ground source heat pump, partially funded by REPF

The photograph shows the borehole being drilled

Cllr Christopher Langford said: "The project has enabled us to replace our old gas boilers with an open loop Ground Source Heat Pump. This will:

1. Enable us to keep our hire rates affordable for hirers
2. Reduce our carbon footprint significantly
3. Mean we can share our experience of the installation and running costs with the wider public"

 

Kings Worthy: Woodham's Farm Day Nursery: balcony and fire escape part-funded by the REPF

       

Construction of a balcony to enable the very young children who are cared for on the first floor to have access to fresh air.  The balcony will also enable faster and safer evacuation in the event of a fire.

Mark Robins, Finance Director, said: "Without the REPF funding, this important improvement to our childcare provision would have stayed on our wish list for another year or two”

Sutton Scotney: Victoria Hall - solar panelling array funded by the REPF

 

Photographs show Installation of the solar panels and the completed installation being admired by Danny Chambers, MP for Winchester, Alistair Black, Chairman of Sutton Scotney Parish Council, and representatives of WinAcc who advised on the system.

Sue Neilson, Parish Clerk, said: "The project has enabled us to install 30 solar panels on the rear elevation of our hall. We are proud that this 127 year old building is playing a part in tackling the climate emergency. We have been able to demonstrate to the community that despite the age, a building can adapt to offset electricity costs and reduce CO2 emissions.   We are optimistic that there should be a 40% saving on our [electricity] consumption."

                 

Upham: Oakridge Smallholding Limited: farm diversification including purchase of shepherd's hut for visitor accommodation and associated solar panelling, funded by the REPF

In the six months following installation of the solar panelling, the system avoided the emission of 6 tonnes of CO2

Patrick Foster, Owner, said: "On the whole it’s a very positive outcome for the farm.  It’s making us think about adding another solar/battery system to secondary supply we have on the farm to be much less grid reliant.  The grant has also enabled us to have a much better-quality hut than we would have been able to afford otherwise"

 

Warnford: Richard Lewis Communications - REPF-funded solar panelling for training rooms at Riversdown House English Immersion Courses

Dan Smith, responsible for Business Development, said: "Riversdown is proud to have recently installed solar panels to the “Chicken Shed”, home to our individual classrooms. These were funded by the UK Government through its Rural Prosperity Fund and awarded by Winchester City Council. Since the installation, the Chicken Shed has been 43% self-sufficient on average and in the summer we should be 100% self-sufficient with the capacity to sell back electricity to the grid."

 

Winchester: City Centre - new interpretation panels for Nunnaminster funded by the UKSPF

Nunnaminster, which was later known as St Mary's Abbey, is located in the heart of Winchester city centre beside Abbey House and Gardens.  

Its original mounted interpretation panels have been replaced with freestanding panels at a lower level, offering better accessibility. The new panels also include raised detailing and Braille to assist those with sight loss and a QR code which links to a screen-reader friendly version of the text, a glossary of terms and links to further reading.

Emalene Hickman, Culture & Creative Sector Development Officer, said: "Thanks to UKSPF funding we were able to install new interpretation panels at the Nunnaminster site, restoring a piece of Winchester’s history. The new, more accessible panels will ensure that visitors and residents alike will have a new appreciation for the significance of the site and its place in our city’s story."

A local guide said: "Just a quick note to say how brilliant the new information boards are! I tried very hard to read the last boards but they were very weathered. The new boards are fascinating, full of things I didn’t know, and I took a group there last week and they thought they were great! I am a Winchester guide and I will take groups there all the time now!”

 

Winchester: former Friarsgate Medical Centre site - interim improvements partially funded by UKSPF

  

Eleanor Driscoll, Project Manager, said: "Friarsgate Park is a new vibrant temporary outdoor space created on the site of the former Friarsgate Medical Centre. The new space includes seating areas, a platform for arts and cultural activities, soft landscaping with wildflowers, and improved views of the River Itchen. Alongside the improvement works at Kings Walk, Friarsgate Park is one of several meanwhile initiatives being introduced as part of the first phase of Central Winchester’s Regeneration, as designs for the entire site are developed. It serves as a new outside community space as well as enhancing connectivity and biodiversity."

 

Winchester: King George V Sports Pavilion - School Sports Tournament funded by UKSPF

    

The UKSPF supported a twelve-week football and cricket programme for children from Year 3 to Year 6, culminating in an inter-school tournament at the newly-opened KGV Sports Pavilion.  700 children from ten schools participated, creating a sense of community and encouraging long-term participation in physical activity.  

• 85% of participants reported increased confidence in sports.
• 70% of teachers observed improvements in their children’s teamwork and communication skills.

Calum Drumond, Health Improvement Manager, said: "In addition to skill development, the project played a crucial role in encouraging social cohesion and teamwork. By bringing together children from diverse backgrounds, it encouraged cultural exchange and friendships that extend beyond the activities."

 

Winchester: Melanie Legge, Sculptor and Ceramicist - REPF-funded front-loading kiln and potter's wheel with associated upgrade in power supply necessary for operating the equipment 

    

This equipment will enable the artist to extend her adult pottery classes on a voluntary basis to the monthly community coffee & chat meeting which takes place in a local village church and provides activity for many elderly and lonely residents.  

 

Winchester: North Walls - River Park path improvements part-funded by the UKSPF

      

A stretch of the resurfaced path following completion of the works designed to improve drainage and prevent flooding.

Katie Morgans, Principal Landscape Architect, said: "The project to overlay the tarmac path has meant the surface has been improved for access by all and has tried to address future flooding issues by allowing it to drain more effectively during a flood.  The project has also introduced areas of biodiversity which will act as flood mitigation by providing the lost flood storage within the existing floodplain." 

 

Winchester: Pinsents Wood: new Activity Barn for Winchester District Scouts, part-funded by the REPF

James Fraser, Treasurer, said: "The construction of the Activity Barn will enable activities to be carried out all year round and not have to be cancelled due to inclement weather or low light.  In the past activities have had to be cancelled or curtailed due to the weather."

 

Winchester: St Giles Hill - stabilisation works part-funded by the UKSPF

   

Coral Rogers, Recreation and Projects Officer, said: "Shoring up the bank with gabions has opened up the path, allowing better access to residents, the wider Winchester town and the many visitors who visit St Giles Hill.  and also allowed planting on the bank. It has also opened up the bank for native planting, benefiting biodiversity on the Hill."

• Winchester District UK Shared Prosperity and Rural Fund Partnership Board ^{(pdf, 231kb)}

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• UKSPF Board meeting Agenda - 2 November 2022 ^{(pdf, 196kb)}
• UKSPF Minutes from Board meeting - 2 November 2022 ^{(pdf, 227kb)}

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• UKSPF Board meeting Agenda - 17 May 2023 ^{(pdf, 337kb)}
• UKSPF Minutes from Board meeting - 17 May 2023 ^{(pdf, 226kb)}

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• UKSPF Board meeting Agenda - 28 July 2023 ^{(pdf, 264kb)}
• UKSPF Board meeting slides - 28 July 2023 ^{(pdf, 1.3mb)}
• UKSPF Minutes from Board meeting - 28 July 2023 ^{(pdf, 310kb)}

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• UKSPF Board meeting Agenda - 27 October 2023 ^{(pdf, 268kb)}
• UKSPF Board meeting slides - 27 October 2023 ^{(pdf, 689kb)}
• UKSPF Minutes fromli Board meeting - 27 October 2023 ^{(pdf, 167kb)}

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• UKSPF Board meeting Agenda - 9 February 2024 ^{(pdf, 226kb)}
• UKSPF Board meeting slides - 9 February 2024 ^{(pdf, 1.4mb)}
• UKSPF Minutes from Board meeting - 9 February 2024 ^{(pdf, 208kb)}

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• UKSPF Board meeting Agenda - 7 June 2024 ^{(pdf, 203kb)}
• UKSPF Board meeting slides - 7 June 2024 ^{(pdf, 2mb)}
• UKSPF Minutes from Board meeting - 7 June 2024