Reaching out to local communities
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Strengthening the Rural Economy
Rural Development Programme for England (LEADER approach)
The area of the website devoted to the Fens Adventurers Rural Development Programme is currently being redeveloped. Please visit again soon.
The Fens Adventurers Rural Development Programme (FARDP) is an exciting new investment initiative that is being administered by Cambridgeshire ACRE in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council. The key aim of the programme will be to invest in local business ventures which operate within a defined geographical area within the Cambridgeshire and West Norfolk Fens. The vision for the programme is “to develop a thriving farming and rural business economy which contributes to and is supported by the economic, social and environmental well-being of the Fens’ communities”.
How much funding is available?
FARDP is funded by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), a programme that is managed by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) in the East of England and is funded by the European Commission and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and five local authorities that reside within the Fens Adventurers area. FARDP has been allocated £4million to invest in local farm businesses, micro enterprises, tourism and community service providers up until December 2013. The FARDP funds will be administered through a Leader approach and will be managed by a Local Action Group.
What is the Leader approach and a Local Action group?
The "Leader approach" is a form of partnership working developed by the EU and has been successfully used since 1989 to administer rural development funding across EU member states. The leader method is built around the principle of “bottom up” governance. At the heart of this method is the Local Action Group (LAG). The LAG is a partnership of mainly local professionals from the private sector with an interest in their area. The LAG is responsible for policing the Leader method by using their local knowledge and expertise to identify then fund local projects that will address the needs they identified within their local development strategy.
Who are the Fens Adventurers LAG?
Named after the the original “Adventurers”, 17th century entrepreneurs who invested in the drainage of the Fens by the Dutch engineer Vermuyden, creating today’s fertile farmland, the Fens Adventurers LAG is staffed by local professionals representing interests in farming, rural business, tourism and other interests relevant to the programme. Membership of the LAG is diverse, and includes Philip Bradshaw, a mixed arable farmer and regular columnist for the Farmers Weekly and Chris Soans the property manager for the National Trust site at Wicken Fen.
What will Fens Adventurers funding be focussed on?
1. Sustainable Food & Farming; the aim will be to increase the competitiveness and sustainability of the land-based sector by supporting added value and diversification ventures and develop the skills of the workforce.
2. Rural Business Development; the aim is to address economic underperformance and contribute to the sustainable development of the Fens by supporting micro enterprise start-up, enhancement of existing enterprises and growth in high-value sectors and sectors that benefit the area as a whole.
3. Sustainable Rural Tourism; the aim is to build on the environmental assets of the Fens to develop the area as a high quality visitor destination and a “green lung” for the growth area.
4. Enterprising Communities; the aim is to sustain the viability of rural communities by enabling local communities to deliver services and activities which enhance quality of life.
Who is eligible for support?
To be eligible for investment your project will need to fit with the following criteria:
- Be relevant to one of the four priorities identified above.
- Demonstrate that the majority of the project beneficiaries reside with the Fens Adventurers area (see map).
- Be able to secure match funding, the amount you need will depend on which priority your project relates to.
- Demonstrate that your project will have wider benefits within local the community such as within local supply chains (projects that just support your business alone will be unlikely to receive investment).
How can I access the funding?
To help with the process of applying for funding the Fens Adventurers have a dedicated team of facilitators who will help you develop your project idea and guide you through the application process.
Mike Carter – Fens Adventurers Programme Manager – Overall programme management and farming business/micro enterprise development - 01353 865047 - Mike.carter@cambsacre.org.uk
Mark Hodgkinson – Fens Adventurers Operations Manager – Technical assistance/compliance issues and rural tourism and community enterprise development - 01353 865040 - Mark.hodgkinson@cambsacre.org.uk
You may also be interested in joining one of our four thematic groups. These groups will be tasked with stimulating and developing relevant project ideas that will meet the long term objectives of the programme. If you feel you have a relevant project idea or would be able to lead on ideas that have already been identified and would like to play a role in shaping the future of the Fens Adventurers area, then you would be useful asset to the Fens Adventurers Partnership.