Scotland: National Rural Network
Connecting Rural Scotland - Promoting Rural Growth

A number of changes to the Rural Priorities scheme have been announced today by Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead.

The Community Services and Facilities option under Rural Priorities will transfer to LEADER, with £13.3 million re-allocated to support this change. Rural Priorities and LEADER are both part of the £1.6 billion Scotland Rural Development Programme.

Other changes announced include:

• The autumn 2010 RPAC round for Rural Priorities will focus on Axis Two (agri-environment and forestry) projects only
• Any Axis One or Three projects submitted by 2nd August (and subsequently committed by 6th September) will be considered at the first RPAC round in 2011. The date for this has yet to be set but will be announced as soon as it is known
• Any Axis One (business development) applications submitted after 2nd August will have the potential award capped at £250,000 per project
• The Scottish Government is considering introducing a continuous assessment for smaller scale Rural Priorities projects

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Richard Lochhead said, "The Scotland Rural Development Programme is a big success story. In Rural Priorities alone over 4,000 projects worth around £338 million have been approved since the scheme was launched in 2008.

"Projects include widespread woodland creation to tackle climate change, farm business expansion creating rural jobs and species and habitat maintenance to safeguard Scotland's rich biodiversity. As well as funding forestry and agriculture, Rural Priorities has supported such diverse projects as swimming facilities in the Borders and an upgraded path network in Comrie, to a youth drop-in centre for the community of Sanday in the Northern Isles.

"This investment is stimulating the rural economy, benefitting the environment and supporting our rural communities.

"Recognising the importance of SRDP in supporting economic development, I brought forward £25 million under Rural Priorities to help lay the foundation for a sustainable rural Scotland. I have been delighted by the response, which is creating jobs and stimulating economic activity in rural areas during these challenging times.

"The time is now right to maximise the benefit of available funding, given that pressures on public spending mean there will be no more extra money for the Programme. The £250,000 ceiling on business development will help spread out that strand of the funding, giving more applicants a chance of success.

"I considered financing business development projects until the relevant budget was used up, without imposing a ceiling. However, this would have limited the number of businesses that could benefit from funding and deprived many young farmers and developing businesses of access to much-needed Rural Priorities support.

"I am continuing to examine the feasibility of introducing a continuous assessment process for smaller Rural Priorities projects from 2011, allowing small and medium scale businesses continuous access to funding. I will make a detailed announcement on this, and provide dates for future grant rounds, later this year.

"Strengthening local decision-making will empower communities to make the most of the funds available. To support the shift of funding for community facility projects to LEADER, I have increased the allocations to Local Action Groups by £13.3 million.

"With considerable funds still available through SRDP, this approach will ensure that together we maximise the benefits for rural Scotland until the Programme's end in 2013."

Further information

If you had committed a Community Services and Facilities application by the 5th July Rural Priorities deadline, it will be dealt with under the August RPAC arrangements. Otherwise, it will be dealt with under LEADER arrangements. The Rural Priorities team will write to all those affected by this change, and the Rural Direct Service will assist those applicants not covered by the August RPAC to help them complete their LEADER application.

Following these changes, the Rural Direct Service will approach any applicants whose community facility projects have not been decided upon in the current round to see how they want to proceed. To contact Rural Direct email info@ruraldirect.org.uk or call 0845 838 8598.

All eligible Business Development projects seeking more than £250,000, and received by the October Regional Proposal Assessment Committees' (RPACs) submit deadline of August 2, 2010, will be considered for that higher level of funding as part of the first 2011 RPAC round.

The focus on agri-environment and forestry projects applies to the October RPAC round only. Applications which cannot be considered then will automatically be deferred to 2011.

Where can I get more information?

You can get further information on these changes on the Rural Priorities section of the SRDP website. The Scottish Government have published a Question and Answer article about the changes. If you are a constituted community group you can contact the free Rural Direct service on 0845 838 8598 or email info@ruraldirect.org.uk.