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Rural businesses benefiting from £30m+ funding boost

Featured on: www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk
 
More than £30 million has been allocated to rural projects by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) in the first year of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

At a meeting looking at the next 12 months, EEDA announced that funding via RDPE – which is delivered jointly by EEDA, Natural England and the Forestry Commission - would be of huge benefit to the regional economy through the creation or safeguarding of jobs and the support of rural enterprises.

At the event, Cindy Winn, rural development manager at EEDA, spoke about the year’s successes.

“In its first year the programme has been terrifically successful. EEDA will have supported more than 700 rural businesses and committed funds through these RDPE projects to create or safeguard over 500 jobs and benefit the natural environment– and this is something we aim to build on over the next few years.”

Cindy also highlighted that the agency is keen to support projects which make best use of water and is currently inviting expressions of interests from applicants seeking funding for collaborative reservoir projects.

“Funding these types of collaborative reservoirs will boost business opportunities for vegetable growers, packers, processers and distributors by maintaining a regular water supply to crops.

“Many growers rely on irrigation during the summer but water abstraction licences have their drawbacks. By storing water during the wetter months, growers can benefit from a guaranteed water supply and better quality produce without damaging the environment. EEDA is currently inviting expressions of interest for RDPE funding of collaborative high flow storage reservoirs for agriculture and horticulture and the deadline for applications is 2nd January.”

A range of projects have already benefited from RDPE funding through EEDA in the past year including Radwinter Wild Game, near Saffron Walden, Essex - a game processing unit which will add value to locally-sourced wild game by turning it into ready-to-cook portions.

Around £21 million has also been allocated to Local Action Groups to fund projects which meet local priorities and needs. There are currently seven local action groups setting up across the region.

Natural England’s agri-environment project manager, Alex Nichols, explained: “"Natural England commits approximately £50m a year to over 6,000 land managers for positive environmental management ranging from simple activities such as hedge planting to management of internationally important sites for biodiversity.”


About EEDA
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is the driving force behind sustainable economic regeneration in the East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. EEDA’s vision is for the East of England to be an ideas driven region that is internationally competitive, harnesses the talent of all and is at the forefront of the low carbon economy. For further information http://www.eeda.org.uk
 
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