16 July 2008

Announcement of the £75 million RDPE plan for England’s rural Northwest

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) is pleased to introduce a £75million fund which will support rural areas in England’s Northwest.

The funding is being made available through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and will be managed by the NWDA.

There are four parts to the RDPE programme termed “axes”.  The NWDA is responsible for three of these:

• Improving the competitiveness of farming and the forestry sectors, referred to as Axis 1, which accounts for £38million of the programme.
• Improving the rural quality of life and diversification of the rural economy, referred to as Axis 3, which accounts for £37million of the programme.
• And in effect for Axis 4 which is a method of delivery through local action groups termed ‘LEADER groups’. Approximately £25million of the funds in Axes 1 and 3 will be directed through this approach.

The Forestry Commission and Natural England are responsible for Axis 2.

Peter White, Executive Director of Development at the NWDA, said:

“RDPE in the Northwest will be the largest rural programme in the region over the next five years with the funding power to radically improve our rural areas.  Working with partners the NWDA will strive to enhance opportunities in rural areas, increase skills and knowledge, support businesses and improve quality of life to secure a sustainable future and a vibrant rural economy.

“The RDPE recognises that targeted intervention is vital to ensure social and economic regeneration in our rural areas and the NWDA is pleased to lead on part of it in the Northwest.”

Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Rural Affairs, said:

“I am delighted that NWDA has launched its £75 million fund to invest in making the Northwest an even better place for rural people to live and work in, and where rural businesses can prosper and grow.  This is part of a record investment of £3.9 billion by the Government in rural development in England between now and 2013.  It will help our farming, food and forestry industries to thrive and become more competitive, and enhance opportunity for rural businesses and communities.”

Delivery of RDPE in the Northwest

The funding will be delivered by either the LEADER approach or by the NWDA through partners.

Local priorities have been identified by sub-regional rural partnerships that have submitted strategies for managing RDPE in their sub-region. These are: ICEP in Merseyside; Manchester Enterprises; Lancashire Economic Partnership; Cheshire and Warrington Rural Partnership and Cumbria Partners. These strategies give details of what measures from RDPE will be used to deliver local priorities. Final draft strategies can be viewed at: www.nwda.co.uk/rdpe

Delivery of RDPE through LEADER in the Northwest

In asking partners to identify their local priorities the NWDA has taken an approach which is unique amongst Regional Development Agencies, and as a result some areas within sub-regions are delivering RDPE under the LEADER approach. Using the LEADER approach the NWDA has invited local community groups to design and implement packages which will support businesses, maximise training and skills development and provide opportunities in their local areas. This local ‘bottom-up’ approach to development invites key local players to come together to form a Local Action Group (LAG). Following a wide consultation process we can announce today that two groups, North Cumbria (Solway, Borders and Eden); and South Cumbria (Fells and Dales), have been approved and will bring forward, develop and take decisions on proposals/grant applications throughout Cumbria, contract-managed by the NWDA.

Funding which will be delivered through the LEADER approach

The Cumbria LEADER groups will manage and direct £6.16million of RDPE funding. Lancashire’s LEADER groups will get £7.7million in total. South Cheshire (Northern Marches) LEADER group will receive £650,000 towards a joint approach with Shropshire. Pennine Prospects group, in the south Pennines, will be led by RDA Yorkshire Forward with some funding provided by the Northwest to support the area in Greater Manchester.

Projects which will be delivered by NWDA through partners

Other funding will be delivered directly by the NWDA through partners. In the sub-regions approximately £2million funding is set aside for Merseyside and Greater Manchester has been allocated £2.5million. Cheshire has been allocated £4.8million and a proposal is being developed to use this to fund business support, skills and tourism programmes in Cheshire.

Additionally, all areas will benefit from the £18million Livestock Programme and from Business Planning Support which will be accessible through Business Link.

Approximately £3.5million of the region’s RDPE funding will fund ongoing ‘Legacy’ projects, previously managed by the Rural Development Service, most of these projects were completed in 2007/08.

The NWDA website will be continually updated with new packages of funding allowing work to start across a whole range of rural development activities available under RDPE.

Natural England and the Forestry Commission are responsible for delivering Axis 2, which is worth around £299million, for improving the environment and countryside, mainly through agri-environment schemes and environment grants.  The whole RDPE in the Northwest is worth approximately £374million, to be delivered between 2008 – 2013.

-Ends-
 
 Editor's Notes

• RDPE is a European Agricultural Programme with two elements. Legacy projects were completed 2007/08 with some extending into 2008/09. The more substantial element of the programme being announced today was approved by the EU in December 2007 and will run until 2013.

• Delivery is set entirely within the Regional Implementation Plan (RIP) for the RDPE which has been developed in partnership with GONW, Natural England and the Forestry Commission. The RIP embraces the whole of the RDPE Programme, including Axis 2. Economic priorities within the Plan have been drawn from the Regional Economic Strategy, Northwest Forest Framework and Natural England’s Strategic Objectives. Local priorities under the RIP were drawn up by sub-regional partnerships. The NWDA will contract companies to deliver these priorities.

• Under the LEADER part of RDPE eight groups have been invited to draw up Local Development Strategies including those of the two Cumbria groups, which have been approved. South Cheshire with North Shropshire (Northern Marches), a cross border application is under the direction of Advantage West Midlands. South Pennines with West Yorkshire (Pennine Prospects) has submitted an application to Yorkshire Forward. Three strategies for Lancashire are under consideration and as is a strategy for Merseyside. West Lancashire, North Lancashire, Pennine Lancashire and Merseyside ICEP have until August 30th to submit their final strategies.

• Economic activity in the rural sector accounts for around £21 billion, or 23 percent, of the region’s GVA and 25 percent of employment. However, as 40 percent of all firms are based in rural areas the RDPE must help tackle underperformance.

• The NWDA announced a week ago that the first round of funding is now available through the Livestock Programme.  Funding of £6.6 million will be released through six projects and the NWDA is now seeking applicants interested in running them to apply at www.nwda.co.uk by July 31st. This initial funding will concentrate on resource and nutrient management on farms, and on animal health and welfare issues. Follow-on funding of £9.9 million in Capital Investment Grants will soon become available.

For further information please contact Sam Shale, Press Officer on 01925 400264 or 07717 427872 or sam.shale@nwda.co.uk 

Photographs will be available after the event on request.

For urgent out of hours press enquiries please call 01925 400259.

For further information and to view all press releases visit us at www.nwda.co.uk/press

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is responsible for:

• Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life