Scotland: National Rural Network
This is the first part in the event report from the Scottish National Rural Network regional event in Orkney. In this part you can get details of information updates from the Rural Network, LEADER and Rural Priorities. In Part Two, you can get information on project presentations and a facilitated discussion session.
The Scottish National Rural Network regional event in Orkney took place on 28th May 2010 at the St Magnus Centre in Kirkwall.
Councillor Ian Johnstone opened by expressing how pleased he was to see such a good attendance at the event, and wished everyone an enjoyable day. He said during the next two to three years there will be serious cuts and there will be a need to make every bit of money count. He commented on how the types of smaller projects like those being discussed today are an excellent way to approach how we combat the recession which is being felt all over the world, and that looking for these types of opportunities is something that Orkney is very good at doing.
Event chair Phyllis Harvey added to Councilor Johnstone's remarks by emphasising that Orkney has a good reputation of networking across all the islands, and that this was an opportunity to show other areas how we can work together for the benefit of the whole area.
The first presentation of the day was from Norette Ferns, Scottish National Rural Network Website Editor, who gave an overview of the Scottish National Rural Network and in particular the events programme and SNRN website. Ms Ferns' update highlighted the tools available to help rural communities, businesses and organisations to connect with each other and access a wide range of news, events and reports.
Plans for the day were outlined and it was explained that the information (presentations, reports, photos etc) generated from each of the regional events - of which there are 20 in total - would be available to view on the Rural Network website. Delegates were encouraged to make use of the website resource and to sign up to receive the regular newsletters containing the latest news on rural developments and funding opportunities.
Ms Ferns highlighted opportunities to get involved with the website as any registered user can add content directly to the site by following the guides in the How to Add Content section.
You can find out more by downloading the SNRN update presentation from the documents library.
Phyllis Harvey, Chair of the Orkney LEADER Local Action Group, provided an overview of the Orkney LEADER programme. The LEADER programme is a bottom up method of delivering support for rural development which is achieved by having a local strategy with a focus on small scale, community driven projects that are pilot and innovative in nature and able to demonstrate economic, environmental and social development.
LEADER makes up 5 percent of the Scottish Rural Development Programme budget, which is shared between 20 regions. This, combined with a share of the Highlands and Islands Convergence Fund, means that Orkney has £2.11 million available with funding for applications open until 2013.
Orkney LEADER can fund up to a maximum of 50 percent. A minimum project cost of £1000 applies, with the maximum grant being usually under £125,000. At least five percent of the project costs must come from your own funds, and the maximum funding period is two years.
Phyllis explained the difference between the two different types of projects that could be funded, Action 1 being for local projects, and Action 2 being for cooperation projects in partnership trans-nationally or with other areas of Scotland, before going on to explain the eligibility criteria, funding restrictions and general provisions.
The two main themes for Orkney are Revitalising Communities, which might include things like rural transport initiatives, developing or improving community facilities, and Progressive Rural Economy, which might include things like research and feasibility studies, training and development, and knowledge transfer.
Phyllis finished by talking about the role of the Local Action Group (LAG), and the process of application, selection and monitoring for the fund, before providing some contact details for Alistair Brown, LEADER Development Officer, and the web address: tel 01856 873535 ext. 2855, email alister.brown@orkney.gov.uk, web http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/LEADER.
Dylan De Silva, Scottish National Heritage Case Officer, provided an overview of the Northern Isles Rural Priorities.
The presentation started with a look at how the Rural Priorities scheme fits as part of the wider Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP). The SRDP is a £1.6 billion programme of economic, environmental and social measures designed to develop rural Scotland over a 6 year period to 2013. Around 40 percent of this, just over £600 million, is allocated to Rural Priorities.
Rural priorities is a competitive scheme delivered over 11 geographic areas, of which one of these is the Northern Isles. The scheme combines previous rural funding programmes of Scottish Government, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage. Funding decisions are made by the Northern Isles RPAC (Regional Proposal Assessment Committee) whose members include SNH, FCS, RPID, SEPA, Scottish Enterprise and local authorities. Each RPAC can set it's own regional priorities for projects it wishes to cover.
In the Northern Isles, upto the end of 2009, about 300 projects have been approved. The amount of funding committed to Northern Isles is likely to be just over £18 million following the April RPAC, where another 62 projects were considered. At the time of the event, the Northern Isles had considered over 400 projects.
Dylan gave an outline of the various areas that can be considered for funding, with some examples of approved projects. Most applications have been from agricultural businesses to help them diversify and for agri-environment measures, plus some large applications from rural communities. Applications with multiple aims will be strong (e.g. projects to diversify of restructure rural enterprise may also address climate change, or projects to address biodiversity may also include landscape options).
Help is available through Rural Priorities staff, on the website, and through Rural Direct and other agents. You can find out more by downloading the Northern Isles Rural Priorities presentation from our documents library.
In Part Two, you can find out about two project presentations, an address from Liam MacArthur MSP and the facilitated discussion session.
The Orkney event was one of a series of 20 that took place in the first year of the Regional Coordination Service of the Scottish National Rural Network. You can get information, event reports, presentations, photos and video from events in our Rural Network Regional Events archive.
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