The new RDP has four elements:
Environmental schemes (£3.1bn) – around £900m of which will be available under the new Countryside Stewardship scheme for farmers and land managers who voluntarily manage their land in ways that benefit the environment to meet local priorities. Around £2.1bn will pay farmers and foresters who are already in environmental schemes from the previous programme.
Countryside Productivity (£141m) – helping the farming and forestry industry to become highly skilled and new farmers to start-up their business. Helping develop world class production and supply chains through working together to use the best new technology and innovation and by collaborating to develop their sectors.
Growth Programme (£177m) – helping get new rural businesses off the ground and existing businesses to develop new products and facilities, investing in broadband and renewable energy and promoting rural tourism. LEPs and local partners will help us decide how to spend funds in their area.
LEADER (£138m) – giving local communities the responsibility and resources to identify local needs and fund projects to meet them. Local LEADER groups will decide how to spend funds in their area. At least 70% of this will go directly on job creation and growth.
The rural development programme will help individual businesses grow and develop:
Under Countryside Stewardship farming and forestry businesses will benefit through funding (via income foregone) to support environmental land management and grants for items such as woodland creation, restoring hedges and improving water quality.
The Countryside Productivity scheme will help farming and forestry businesses to become highly skilled, to start-up a business, to use the best new technology and innovation and to collaborate to develop their particular sector.
Growth Programme funding will helping get new rural businesses off the ground and existing businesses to develop new products and facilities, investing in broadband and renewable energy and promoting rural tourism. LEPs and local partners will help us decide how to spend funds in their area.
LEADER funding gives local communities the responsibility and resources to identify local needs and fund projects to meet them. Local LEADER groups will decide how to spend funds in their area, but we have said that we would want 70% of funding to support job creation and growth. There will be opportunities for rural businesses to access funding to support this.
More information on the schemes available can be found on www.gov.uk