Fully-Funded Business Support for Rural Businesses Across the North East
HiThrive is supporting the delivery of the North East Rural Growth Programme — a fully-funded initiative helping rural businesses across Durham, Gateshead and Northumberland to grow, create new jobs, and build long-term resilience.
If your business has ambitions to grow and create new employment opportunities, this could be exactly the support you've been looking for — and it won't cost you a penny.
What is the North East Rural Growth Programme?
The North East Rural Growth Programme (NE-RGP) is funded by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, with Northumberland County Council acting as Lead Delivery Partner, supported by Durham County Council, Gateshead Council, Northumberland National Park Authority, Food and Drink North East Limited, and North East Enterprise Agency.
The programme is specifically designed to help rural businesses respond to the challenges and opportunities they face — supporting growth, improving productivity, and helping to create new jobs across the region. Funding is secured through to March 2029.
What support is available?
Eligible businesses can receive up to 12 hours of fully-funded one-to-one expert business support, tailored entirely to your needs. There is also access to themed workshops covering a wide range of growth and resilience topics — and the good news is you can attend workshops and still access your full allocation of one-to-one support on top.
Working alongside you, HiThrive can provide expert advice to help:
Accelerate growth and increase productivity
Access new markets and grow sales
Develop financial plans and forecasts
Access funding and investment
Build resilience and plan for the long term
Is your business eligible?
The programme is available to businesses based in rural areas of the North East. Here's a quick guide to where and when support is available:
Rural SW Durham, Gateshead & Northumberland — support available until March 2029
Urban Northumberland — support available until December 2026
To be eligible, your business needs to be trading, have ambitions to grow, and be looking to create new employment opportunities. Eligibility is assessed by your local authority when you register, so if you're not sure whether you qualify, the best thing to do is get in touch — we're happy to have a preliminary chat before you take the next step.
How does the support work?
The programme operates through your local authority. Once you register, a Rural Business Adviser will get in touch, visit your business, and carry out a diagnostic to understand your needs. From there, a specialist is allocated based on your specific requirements.
You'll receive a Scope of Work confirming the agreed areas of support, and your specialist works with you from that point — typically over an initial six-week period, with a mid-point check-in to make sure everything is on track.
How do I register?
Register through the appropriate portal for your area:
Not sure where to start? Head over to our dedicated North East Rural Growth Programme page for full details — or get in touch with the HiThrive team and we'll point you in the right direction.
