Grant funding is an important tool to support the development of our local rural areas. The European Union funded bottom-up rural development programme, LEADER, is an important source of funding that has been available over many years in Northumberland. These funds are managed by Local Action Groups (LAGs), that represent local business, public, and community and voluntary sector interests. There are two LAGs in Northumberland, Coast and Lowlands, and Uplands. A map showing their current geographical coverage is provided below.
LEADER is entering a new phase, with significant funding being made available in the Northumberland Coast and Lowlands (C&LL) over the period 2015-2020. This money will be mainly focused on economic development, with the aim of supporting wealth and job creation in the area. It will work alongside other sources of funding, such as the Rural Growth Network, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and European Structural and Investment Funds, to help address local job and wealth creation.
The Coast and Lowlands LAG is asking local people, groups and businesses to assist in the design of the new Programme that will be in place over the next five years (Uplands LAG is undertaking a separate consultation in its own area). It is important that this funding meets local priorities, and we are asking people to participate in designing the ways that this money is spent. Answering the following questions will help this process. There are only eight questions to answer.
In addition to this questionnaire, our team will also be contacting local groups to ask their opinions directly, and will be holding local consultation meetings in Belford, Stannington and Amble. If you want to be kept informed of this process, please leave your details at the end of the questionnaire, or follow us on Twitter @NlandC&LLEADER.
If you want to know more about the consultation, or wish to talk to a member of our team in more detail, please contact Alastair Thomson at Centrifuge Consulting at alastair@centrifuge.coop, or 0191 242 4891. Other queries about C&LL should be put to Christine Stevenson at the C&LL office at christine@leadercoastandlowlands.org.uk or 01670 863007.
You should note that no individual responses will be attributed without your permission, and the raw data from the questionnaire will only be held by Centrifuge and treated confidentially. The responses will be used to develop the strategy for the next five years.
