Leader Funding
One way for rural areas in the South East to access EU and Defra funds is through the new Leader scheme. This can help support a wide range of activities undertaken by rural communities, businesses (including farmers, growers and foresters) and community organisations. These activities could include, for example:
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Woodchip boilers in village halls.
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Facilities to help those with care responsibilities to return to work.
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Supporting the set-up of new businesses.
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Improving skills and access to information technology.
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Farm diversification.
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Local food projects.
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Protecting and/or making better use of local cultural and heritage assets.
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Sustainable tourism projects.
You will be aware that most grants are usually administered by regional or national organisations, but not Leader – Leader funds are put into the hands of local action groups (LAGs) for them to disburse to projects that can help address local problems and opportunities.
In the South East there is a Leader budget of about £22 million for the period 2008 to 2013 and a typical Leader group might have around £350,000 per year for supporting activities in their area. Grant rates for individual projects will range from perhaps 30% to 80% of the eligible costs of projects.
The Leader approach to supporting rural communities and businesses is based on:
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Creating a local partnership – A wide range of rural businesses, community groups and public and voluntary sector organisations coming together in a partnership, called a Local Action Group (LAG), to provide a fresh and co-ordinated approach to solving local issues.
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The LAG should be representative of a wide range of interests in their specified geographic area in order to generate a strong local identity, to develop greater community ownership and to ensure people work together – this is key to having a successful LAG.
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A bottom up approach – When a local action group starts to form it is vitally important that a good range of businesses, local organisations and individuals come forward to develop ideas, offer potential projects and provide support for the creation of the new partnership. You have to identify the issues and opportunities that are important in your area and identify how these could be addressed with Leader funding. Each LAG has to prepare a Local Development Strategy (LDS) which describes their area and the ways in which they want to address the issues that are important to the people in that area.
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Local management – The subsequent development and support of projects is organised and managed in a way which suits the area. The “Local Action Group” is responsible for facilitating and supporting projects that will meet the objectives of their local development strategy. The LAG will also be responsible for assessing and approving projects in their area.
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Encouraging innovation and experimentation - Leader encourages LAGs to find new ways to deliver their local development strategy through co-operating and networking with other regions and countries in the exchange of ideas and experiences.
In our Area
If you are a farmer, forester or rural business in the Loddon and Eversley Heritage Area in north-east Hampshire you may be able to benefit from funding from Europe and Defra under the Leader programme. Leader funds are designed to help the rural economy - supporting farming, land management, forestry and rural businesses in a sustainable way, whilst also helping to address environmental and social issues.
The Loddon & Eversley Local Action Group (LAG) has secured £1.8 million to spend over the next six years in supporting a range of schemes that will help create wealth in rural north-east Hampshire. The funds will help develop new enterprises as well as providing major opportunities for existing businesses and communities to work together to invest in their future.
Every Leader programme is run by a Local Action Group. The LAG is a partnership of local rural businesses, farmers, landowners, voluntary and community sector organisations, government bodies and others who come together to apply for funding under the rural development programme. Successful Leader programmes, like ours, are then run by their LAG for the duration of the project.
Main objectives of Leader
A locally-led approach to delivering across the 3 axes of the Rural Development Plan for England:
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Making agriculture and forestry more competitive and sustainable
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Enhancing the environment and countryside
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Rural quality of life and diversification of the rural economy
Examples of the types of projects that the Loddon and Eversley Leader programme would hope to fund are those that:
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Help farming to become more sustainable and economically viable
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Promote local food
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Help woodland management to become sustainable and economicaly viable
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Help increase the use of wood fuel
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Encourage viable communities and improve quality of life
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Help rural businesses to improve environmental performance and make a positive contribution to their environment
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Raise awareness and increase understanding of the Loddon and Eversley Heritage Area, the importance of farming and forestry and the benefits of buying local produce
You must be based within the Loddon and Eversley project area to be eligible for funding
For more information contact the Loddon and Eversley LAG by:
email: mail@loddoneversleyleader.org.uk
phone: Emily Preston 01962 846381 Amanda Bassett 01256 381186
