Grassroots projects could miss out on EU millions

RURAL communities are in 
danger of missing out on millions of pounds of European funding due to the spectre of uncertainty surrounding a hugely successful scheme which has aided 
thousands of grassroots projects across the country.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Dec 2012, 06:00 BST

Grave fears are growing that a network of contacts across vast swathes of Britain’s countryside will be eroded with predicted 
delays of up to 12 months before the next tranche of funding is made available under the LEADER programme.

The current round of funding has provided a massive boost to supporting rural communities, with a £130m windfall expected to have been handed out when it comes to an end in 2014.

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But the mounting concerns over future funding will be raised at the top tier of the Government after one of the region’s MPs pledged to hold talks with the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson.

The Conservative MP for 
Scarborough and Whitby, Robert Goodwill, said: “It is important that we end the uncertainty, and ensure people who are involved do not leave the programme. We have to ensure the good work undertaken in the current programme continues.”

Senior officials behind the most successful LEADER project in the country which covers one of Yorkshire’s national parks have warned dwindling resources amid the Government’s austerity drive are compounding the problems.

The North York Moors, Coast and Hills LEADER Programme has allocated £3.1m to more than 200 schemes since the start of 2009.

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But the existing programme comes to an end in March 2014 and a new application for funding needs to be made to the 
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which distributes the cash from the European Commission.

The North York Moors National Park Authority’s director of conservation, Peter Barfoot, has been a key figure in the hugely 
successful LEADER programme and sits on its executive.

He said: “There will be a hiatus, and we do not know yet what shape the new funding streams will take. There will be a new 
programme, but we do not know the details yet. There are contingency plans, although a lot of resources no longer exist (due to the Government’s cutbacks).

“There is a degree of uncertainty, which is something that is far from ideal. I try to be positive but we are all going through difficult times. There are not the resources which were available five or six years ago when this LEADER programme started.

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“However, we are not starting from scratch this time, and we have already done a great deal of good work. We must build on this for when the next round of funding is made available.”

Mr Barfoot admitted that it is unlikely that there will be new rural development regulations in place by the start of 2014, meaning that there will be at least a year-long gap before the next funding streams will be available for the LEADER programme.

The Government claimed work is already underway to establish the next round of funding when the current programme finishes. But a Defra spokeswoman admitted precise details will not be known until the European budget for 2014 to 2020 is hammered out.

The spokeswoman added: “Through the LEADER programme and other Rural Development Programme projects, Defra has transformed the prospects of thousands of rural businesses, boosting local economies and supporting thriving rural communities. We have started work to design the next Rural Development Programme, including working with the existing Local Action Groups on how we take the LEADER approach forward.”

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