£500,000 for rural economic development

Scottish Enterprise (SE) has committed up to £500,000 as part of its support for the next phase of a successful programme aimed at driving economic growth in Scotland’s rural communities.

The fund will provide match funding and contributions towards circa ten LEADER programme projects designed to achieve sustainable employment, innovation, diversification and collaboration in rural communities across the Scottish Enterprise area.

LEADER is a European Union (EU) rural initiative focused on developing rural economic development by local stakeholders. In Scotland the programme is co-financed by the Scottish Government and administered by Local Action Groups to help deliver their Local Development Strategies. As part of the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) LEADER focuses on encouraging private enterprise and entrepreneurship, improving services and infrastructure at a local level while supporting Scotland's rural culture.

The LEADER programme awards match funding for rural economic development projects which fit the above criteria. SE’s fund of £500,000 will be available to support projects in the Scottish Enterprise area that have a particular focus on the rural economy and whose project owners may need help in pulling together the funding needed to unlock LEADER support. This means that good projects which might otherwise not have an opportunity to progress because of lack of funding would be in a position to apply for LEADER support as a result of the SE funding.

All LEADER projects to be funded by Scottish Enterprise will need to show evidence that they will help sustain rural employment, encourage innovation and diversification, and/or encourage collaboration between rural businesses and communities.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing MSP, said: “I welcome this additional financial assistance for projects to access LEADER funding. The creativity and innovation of Scotland’s rural citizens always impresses, and supporting our rural communities to develop and connect local opportunities is key as we grow Scotland’s overall economy.

“In Scotland we have a diverse range of economic contributors across our rural areas, from large landowners to remote micro-breweries. All are important in helping Scotland to become a wealthier and fairer place to live and work. I’ll be following the results of the LEADER programme with interest.”

Rural Director at Scottish Enterprise, Julian Pace, said: “Beyond being one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth, rural Scotland has so much to offer in terms of opportunities to develop products and services that build on the natural and historic assets of the country, especially in respect of food, tourism, forestry and renewable energy.

“With a good track record of previous rounds of LEADER support and funding, we’re confident that continuing our investment in the LEADER programme will bring sustainable economic development to rural areas in Scotland. I look forward to seeing what projects will come forward.”

In previous years SE has provided match funding for projects including:

• Berry Heritage in Tayside which promoted the food heritage of rural Scotland to international audiences through a series of events including a world jam making competition, the World Jampionships ™.
• Banffshire Coast Tourism Programme which facilitated collaboration among tourist service businesses in the area to stimulate growth of the tourist industry in north Aberdeenshire.
• Borders Woodfuel and Renewable Energy Project which identified under-managed woodlands in the Scottish Borders and helped landowners develop effective management plans.

Since the closure of the last programme round, SE has been working with the Scottish Government at both national and regional levels to help shape and focus the new LEADER programme which will provide these funds up until 2020. A key focus of the new programme is economic development and rural diversification.

The Scottish Government, using EU and its own funds, has allocated £77m towards the new LEADER Programme and these funds need to be matched by project owners or sponsors. SE can operate as a both a project owner and a sponsor.