Scotland: National Rural Network
This is the first part of the event report from the Scottish National Rural Network (SNRN) West Lothian regional event which took place in Livingston on 24th February. In this part you can get information on updates from the SNRN, LEADER and Rural Priorities. In Part Two, you can get information on two project presentations.
The Rural Network West Lothian regional event took place at Livingston's Howden Park Centre on 24th February 2010. It was a very snowy day, as you can see from the photo. Councillor Martin Day, Chair of the West Lothian LEADER Local Action Group, welcomed delegates and said he was very pleased people had managed to make it despite the snowy weather. He said that West Lothian is not always considered a rural area but they do have large swathes of rural in the region, and strong links with rural industries.
Beverley Maclean, Regional Coordinator of the Scottish National Rural Network gave an overview of the Rural Network, its aims and the work that has taken place so far. The Rural Network is a statutory requirement, and while it could be a tick box exercise, said Mrs Maclean, it is in fact something much more innovative. One of the Rural Network's key aims is to share good practice, which is what the regional events are all about. The West Lothian event is the seventh to take place out of a series of 20.
Norette Ferns, SNRN Website Editor gave an overview of the website, what resources are available, and most importantly how people can get involved. She advised delegates that any registered user can add events, news, announcements, comments and discussion topics to the website. And it is a great place to share the work of your project, business or organisation across Scotland and even further afield. Ms Ferns pointed delegates to the step by step instructions on how to add content in their packs. These guides are also available in the How to Add Content section of the website.
You can find out more by downloading the Scottish National Rural Network presentation from our documents library.
Mr Greaves from West Lothian Council gave an overview of the West Lothian LEADER programme and further background on the region. He explained that LEADER is part of the Scotland Rural Development Programme and is aimed at promoting economic and community development in rural areas.
The funding programme in West Lothian runs until 2011/12. They are focusing on the themes: Rural Community Capacity and Revitalising Rural Communities.
The programme is administered through a Local Action Group with representatives from the voluntary sector, youth and women's groups as well as the main public sector bodies. Mr Greaves said that LEADER had brought together people who probably wouldn't have worked together otherwise. He advised that LEADER has strong links with community planning and also draws on experts when necessary to advise on projects. Avril Wallace manages the project locally and will help applicants translate an idea into a fully fledged project.
Mr Greaves then gave an overview of eligibilty. Areas with a population of under 10,000 are eligible. Target groups in West Lothian are young people, long-term unemployed and women.
Priorities for West Lothian LEADER include:
West Lothian LEADER started in April 2008 with community consultations held in July to September of that year. Potential projects were identified in October 2008, with the launch and first project approvals in November. They have a budget of £1.02 million. West Lothian LEADER will fund up to 50 percent of a project, with match funding required.
They have approved 14 projects with an award commitment of £353,105 and a further £173,000 expected as a phase two of these. Other projects are underway.
Mr Greaves said the recession is having an impact on funding opportunities. This provides challenges and West Lothian LEADER are looking at how partners can bring together match funding to support LEADER and so on. He ran through some of the challenges that West Lothian currently faces. While population growth remains healthy, wage levels in West Lothian lag behind the Scottish average, unemployment has gone up - particularly for young people in rural areas - and access to services for those without private transport in rural areas remains problematic.
Banking and insurance used to be a strength for the area, but there has been a decline due to the economic downturn, although there are signs of growth in the areas of tourism, food and drink and potential for growth in the energy sector.
Current projects include Celebrating Our Shale Oil Heritage, Fauldhouse Forest Employability Project and the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge Heritage Trail. Mr Greaves said they were keen for more community-led projects to come forward. And, they are also seeking volunteers for their Local Action Group.
You can find out more by downloading David Greave's LEADER presentation from our documents library and by visiting the West Lothian LEADER website.
Iain Rennick is area manager for Scottish Natural Heritage, and Chair of the Forth region Rural Priorities Assessment Committee. Rural Priorities is part of the £1.6 billion Scotland Rural Development Programme which runs until 2013 and which funds economic, environmental and social measures.
Rural Priorities makes up about 40 percent of the scheme, which is over £600 million. The scheme is competitive. There are 11 regions in Scotland. The Forth region covers eight local authority areas - the region is large and heavily populated. The RPAC membership is made of SNH, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Government and also SEPA and Scottish Enterprise.
Mr Rennick said there are a diverse range of funding options available. He also ran through regional priorities for the area, but said it is likely that these will be reviewed and revised over the coming year.
As the theme for the West Lothian event was Rural Development and Communities, Mr Rennick explained that support for rural communities fell under a number of options, including small scale renewables, areas access management and management and repair of vernacular buildings. He advised delegates that Collaborative Local Development Strategies and Community Services and Facilities might transfer from Rural Priorities to LEADER, but no announcement has been made on this yet.
Should applicants go to Rural Priorities or LEADER? Mr Rennick said there was no simple rule of thumb as to which programme to apply to. LEADER is better for smaller projects, projects that employ staff, feasability studies and projects involving training. Mr Rennick said there is lots of advice available from Rural Direct, with Sheila Fraser in attendance at the event, LEADER managers and Rural Priorities case officers. There is also a close liaison between Rural Priorities and LEADER.
In the Forth region to date there have been 750 Statements of Intent, of which about 75 percent where given the amber light to proceed to the next stage of application. There have been six RPAC rounds since August 2008. They have considered 300 proposals, with 250 approved. Approximately £20 million has been awarded to the Forth region, which is about eight percent of the total approved across the country. Of these 25 proposals were from the West Lothian region, totalling around £1.2 million. Mr Rennick said there was scope for more projects from West Lothian.
He said that most of the approved projects had come from traditional rural industries, with relatively few from community groups. Mr Rennick said this was true of most of the RPACs. He said there were a number of issues which may have been causing a barrier, but measures have been introduced since the launch of Rural Priorities to help address these. For example, rural communities might need more advice on applications, and applicants can now contact the Rural Direct service. Communities might also find it difficult to find match funding, and now applicants can apply for up to 90 percent from some options.
Mr Rennick said it looked like these measures are working as in the current round there are a lot of community applications, with around 100 community projects coming to the various RPACs in April 2010. He said this was encouraging.
Mr Rennick concluded by telling delegates that there is money available for good projects and urged them to come forward and not to be afraid to ask for assistance.
You can find out more on the Scottish Government SRDP website, on the Rural Direct website and by downloading Mr Rennick's Rural Priorities presentation from our documents library.
In Part Two of the event report you can find out about two projects - Fauldhouse Development Trust from West Lothian and the Strachur Community Development Company from Argyll.
The West Lothian regional event is one of a series of 20 taking place across the country. You can read reports, watch video, download presentations and see photos from all the events that have taken place so far in our Rural Network Regional Events archive. You can get a list of events still to take place in our Regional Events section.
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