Important changes are happening to rural funding in England to better target it to the needs of rural people and businesses in each region.
As announced in February 2006, Defra is consulting on the priorities for the next Rural Development Programme for England, which will run from 2007 to 2013. The three month public consultation closes on Monday 22 May.
The next programme will see changes to funding for social and economic development in rural areas, currently delivered through the 'Project Based Schemes'.
It has already been announced that to achieve more simplified and better targeted funding for rural areas, the current Project Based Schemes will not be rolled forward into the next programme. The Rural Enterprise Scheme, Processing and Marketing Grant, Vocational Training Scheme and Energy Crops (SRC) Producer Group Scheme are therefore closing to new applications on Friday 30 June.
The new programme will continue to provide funding for social and economic development in rural areas, but this will be delivered by England's Regional Development Agencies who intend to introduce new funding arrangements in line with regional priorities.
Environmental Stewardship will not be affected by these rural funding changes. But responsibility for delivery of Environmental Stewardship will move from the Rural Development Service to Natural England, once that body is fully operational.
