Rural Payments and Services

If your proposal is successful and the funding approved exceeds €50,000 you must display an explanatory plaque. Where the total cost exceeds €500,000 you must erect a billboard.

The plaque or billboard must include:

• a description of the project
• the European flag, to standards detailed in European Union regulations
• the statement 'The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in the Rural Areas’ – this information shall take up at least 25 per cent of the billboard or plaque

The grant control period is five years from the date your project is complete and in use.

All items purchased or constructed with the assistance of a grant must remain in use for the purpose for which the grant was approved, which is normally five years (or for their useful life if this is less than five years and correct maintenance has been carried out).

If any cost or item funded is not used for the original purpose for the duration of the grant control period, you will be required to repay the money with interest as per European Union regulations.

If you dispose of assets that have been the subject of a grant within five years of receipt of that grant, we would normally expect you to repay the whole amount of grant with interest.

However, if the asset were to remain in use for the purpose set out in the grant, this recovery could be waived in whole or in part.

The responsibility for the design and execution of the works and any liability arising from this lies solely with you.

It is advisable for you or your contractor to be insured against all risk of injury, damage or loss arising, from whatever cause, in the course of the work.

Any additional expense which may be incurred because of failure to insure or inadequate insurance will not be covered by the grant.

You are responsible for ensuring that all information provided in support of an application or claim is accurate in all respects. Failure to do so may result in the recovery of any grant paid plus interest.

You are required to allow an authorised person, at reasonable hours and on producing authorisation, access to inspect land and premises relating to an application or claim.

If you obstruct an authorised person in carrying out these duties some or the entire grant may be withheld and / or some or the entire grant already paid, plus interest, may be recovered.

Alcohol-related applications will be assessed alongside other bids. Successful alcohol-related projects will be subject to the following specific conditions of grant:

1. funding cannot be used to support projects used to produce alcoholic products which retail at below 50 pence per unit

2. you agree to adhere to the terms of the Portman Group's Code of Practice on Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks

3. sign-up to the UK Department of Health’s Public Health Responsibility Deal alcohol labelling pledge, which requires labels to clearly display unit content, NHS guidelines and a warning about drinking when pregnant

4. sign-up to the UK Department of Health’s Public Health Responsibility Deal alcohol responsible packaging pledge not to produce or sell any carbonated product with more than four units of alcohol in a single-serve can

You should register for these UK Responsibility Deal pledges by completing the sign-up form on the Department of Health website.

Department of Health Responsibility Deal

A copy of your pledge delivery plan and the annual update should be sent to us when submitted to the Department of Health.

Additional conditions of grant maybe required which will be detailed on the award letter (e.g. requirement to supply documentation for statutory consents, evidence of match funding etc).

Aims and objectives of the project (as detailed and considered relevant by the National Project Assessment Committee) will also be detailed as a conditions of grant.

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