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Communities in County Durham and South West Northumberland will decide how a budget of more than £2m of rural funding is used to drive economic development in the county over the next three years.
The £2.09m pound investment programme has been formally approved by One North East, as part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). The cash will be allocated to local rural projects by two partnerships – for East Durham and the North Pennine Dales - made up of local residents, farmers, landowners, businesses and community groups, using a special approach to rural development called LEADER.
LEADER involves broad-based community partnerships – known as Local Action Groups (LAGs) – in developing a regeneration strategy for their area, called the Local Development Strategy.
The partnerships then decide on investment priorities for their areas and develop the projects they want to carry out. The two County Durham LAGs are already exploring ideas including new ways of delivering rural services such as farming apprenticeships and technical training groups, sustainable heating and power initiatives and giving community buildings new uses.
LEADER is being administered in these areas with the support of County Durham Economic Partnership.
Chair Ken Jarrold welcomed this additional injection of investment into rural communities at this crucial time: “The focus of this new funding is to kick start a range of rural business and community initiatives. It complements existing resources and services available through Business Link North East and allows local people to have their say in how they want their communities to develop economically and socially in the next three years. It will make better use of the many talents and skills of local people who are the very people who can really make change happen”.
Andrew Thompson, Chair of the East Durham Local Action Group said “This funding is good news for the rural communities and businesses in East Durham. It is available to the wider rural community and encourages and welcomes community involvement. It is there to help rural development and entrepreneurship, which are both to be encouraged, especially in the current economic climate.”
Richard Betton, Chair of the North Pennine Dales LEADER LAG and National Farmers Union NE Council Representative said “The formal approval of the Leader programme is a big opportunity to make a real difference for everyone who lives in the LEADER area.”
LEADER is a community-led, ‘bottom-up’ approach to rural development, which is being used to deliver at least 5% of the new RDPE – the equivalent of around £4.5m in North East England over the next three years.
One North East’s Rural Board Member, Ian Brown, said: “This is an important step forward for County Durham’s new LEADER partnerships.
“They now know exactly how much funding they will have to invest and can start considering proposals from local projects.
“The great thing about LEADER is that it’s about local solutions and local plans – so they can be really flexible about how they want to use this funding.”
The Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013 is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, with the aim of delivering targeted support to rural businesses and communities. It is managed in the region by One North East, Natural England and the Forestry Commission.
For more information on the LEADER partnerships for the North Pennine Dales or East Durham, contact Mike Lazzari at County Durham Economic Partnership on 0191 383 4373 or by emailing mike.lazzari@durham.gov.uk
For more information on RDPE in North East England, visit: www.rdpenortheast.co.uk
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