Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) European Agricultural - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) 12th September 2017

9.30am Arrival and Refreshments 10.00am Welcome and Opening - Cllr Mrs Pam Posnett 10.10am EAFRD: National Perspective - Melanie Fischer 10.30am EAFRD: Local Perspective - Peter McLaren 10.40am LLEP Sector Growth Plans - Mary-Louise Harrison 10.50am Q & A / Next Steps 11.15am Coffee and Networking

Rural Development Programme for England – Growth Programme Rural Development Rural Payments Agency one agency 3

Purpose • Overview of the Rural Development Programme for England • Grant funding available • Application process and timescales • Further information and support one agency PROTECT 4

RDPE Growth Programme grants • In January 2017 Defra launched £120m RDPE Growth Programme calls for the following EAFRD socio-economic projects  Food Processing  Tourism Infrastructure  Business Development (no separate Business Development call currently available in LLEP area) • Open until January 2018 for Expressions of Interest • Two stage application process  Expression of Interest  Full Application • Information about the grants is available on GOV.UK in 3 theme handbooks one agency PROTECT 5

RDPE Growth Programme background • The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) delivers the grants, working with European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) Sub-Committees in Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) areas • Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are partnerships between public bodies and businesses. Their role is to decide local priorities for the grants – where money should be directed to give the most benefit locally • RPA assesses all applications to see how well they fit the priorities for funding and which projects provide best value for taxpayers’ money • As part of the assessment RPA seeks advice from the ESIF sub-committees in each LEP area • You can only apply to one source of Rural Development Programme for England funding per project. You should apply to the LEP’s call where your project best meets their identified local priorities • You won’t automatically get a grant. When you apply for a grant, you’re competing with other applicants in your LEP area one agency PROTECT 6

Tourism Infrastructure and Food Processing one agency 7

Tourism Infrastructure Who can apply? • For projects that will make a profit only micro and small rural businesses and farmers who want to diversify can apply  E.g. projects to create tourist attractions or accommodation • If the project won’t make a profit a wide range of organisations can apply (including public bodies)  E.g. small building for tourist information, cycle paths, free tourist attraction such as a local landmark Who can’t apply? • Crown bodies • Projects that are carried out only to meet a legal requirement What are the grants for? • The grants will help fund the costs of capital expenditure • The aim is to support projects that will encourage more tourists to come, to stay longer and to spend more money in rural areas How much money can you apply for? • Minimum: £35,000. This will vary in other LEP areas • Maximum: State aid rules limit funding to € 200,000, around £170,000 • Grants can cover up to 40% of the eligible costs of a commercial project one agency PROTECT 8

Tourism Infrastructure - examples • Example 1 - Capital investment in visitor attractions A business is building a new visitor attraction for families. This will add to the range of attractions already in the area. It will make the area more attractive to tourists and increase the number of visitors. Because the new visitor attraction is all-weather, it will help extend the tourist season in the area – which means other tourism businesses, like restaurants and accommodation providers, will also benefit. The project will create 1.5 full time jobs. • Example 2 - Building new access infrastructure The local district council is investing in paths to connect up a number of existing footpaths, cycle ways and bridleways. This will create a network of easily accessible circular routes of between 4 and 15 miles, which will make the area more attractive for walking and cycling. • Example 3 - Extending a local museum A local heritage museum (which is free to enter) wants to build a second viewing gallery, so it can display more of its collection. The new gallery will include a small area for a cafe. The new gallery and cafe mean that visitors will stay longer at the museum. The project will create 2 new full time jobs. one agency PROTECT 9

Tourism Infrastructure – National Priorities National priorities for funding – details available in the Handbook Your project is more likely to get a grant if it achieves at least 2 of these; • Create jobs - Creates at create at least 1 FTE job for every £30,000 of grant funding. Creates skilled jobs • Extend the tourism season - Attracts tourists outside the usual period of May to October • Develop tourist attractions and infrastructure - Creates or develops tourist attractions and infrastructure to increase the range of attractions available locally, encourage tourists to stay longer and increase their spend • Collaborate - Encourages collaboration and links between local tourism businesses one agency PROTECT 10

Food Processing Who can apply? • Food and drink businesses that process agricultural and horticultural products Who can’t apply? • Non-departmental public bodies or Crown bodies • Members of Producer Organisations under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme who have (or can get) a grant for the same project through their operational programme • Projects that are carried out only to meet a legal requirement What are the grants for? • Capital grants to help rural businesses grow and create more jobs  constructing or improving buildings  buying new equipment and machinery How much money can you apply for? • Minimum: £35,000. This will vary in other LEP areas • Maximum: £500,000. This will vary in other LEP areas • Grant intervention dependent on nature of activity, with 40% maximum one agency PROTECT 11

Food Processing - examples Example 1 - Meat processing A processing business wants to expand its meat cutting and packing facilities. This will allow it to meet new orders from both the domestic and export markets for products with local provenance. The business will produce ready to-cook consumer packs, including whole cuts, mince and sausage. No other products and no further processing will take place. The business will form a group of local farmers to supply the new orders – some of these already supply the business, some are new suppliers. These suppliers will be paid a premium per kg deadweight over the normal purchase price paid by the applicant business. one agency PROTECT 12

Food Processing - examples • Example 2 - Milk processing A group of farmers are setting up a business to create a new milk processing facility. The farmers are working with a regional retailer that is committed to developing local supply chains for the dairy products sold in their stores. The new milk processing business has secured a rolling 5-year deal for supply based on the cost of production and has identified opportunities for production of yoghurt in future years. • Example 3 - Fruit processing An established soft fruit packing business is creating a facility to process lower-quality, lower-value soft fruit. The project will supply the growing market for fruit smoothies, purees and juices. The project includes new processing and freezing techniques which allow year- round supply of products. The business has secured forward orders from a national restaurant chain. The project will give the business a better profit margin on low-quality fruit, and the business has committed to paying 20% of the increased profit to suppliers through a bonus mechanism. one agency PROTECT 13

Food Processing – National Priorities National priorities for funding – details available in the Handbook Your project is more likely to get a grant if it achieves at least 2 of these; • Create jobs - Creates at least 1 FTE job for every £30,000 of grant funding • Grow your business - Increases the turnover and profitability of a business • Benefit the supply chain - Provides direct benefits to the farmers and growers who supply the raw materials, particularly local farmers and growers • Access new markets - Helps you sell more products locally, nationally and through exports • Show innovation - Introduces new techniques, equipment or processes to a business • Create joint ventures and partnerships - Creates new and useful links between businesses – for example between growers and processors one agency PROTECT 14

Application Process one agency 15