Rural Development Programme for England

 

The Rural Development Programme is jointly funded by the EU, through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, and the Government.  In England, we will also make use of Voluntary Modulation.

The RDPE 2007-2103 has a budget of £3.9 billion.  This is more than double the budget available for the previous programme which ran from 2000-2006.

Some £600 million will be made available to make agriculture and forestry more competitive and sustainable and to enhance opportunity in rural areas.

The new Rural Development Programme for England covers the period 2007-2013. More information on the national programme can be found on Defra’s website

In each region there is a Regional Implementation Plan (RIP) setting out the specific priorities for that area. This draft RIP has been widely consulted upon and agreed with regional partners.

The Delivery partners for each element of the programme are;

Axis I Improving the competitiveness of the farming and forestry sectors – Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA)

Axis II Improving the environment and countryside – Natural England and the Forestry Commission (FC)

Axis III Rural quality of life and diversification of the rural economy - NWDA

Axis IV The LEADER approach – NWDA

To download a copy of the most recent draft of the RIP and for more information on the socio-economic elements of the programme including the sub regional plans visit the NWDA RDPE pages

Axis 2 will be delivered by Natural England and the Forestry Commission through their current schemes – Environmental Stewardship  and the England Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS)

There is information on the transitional arrangements for EWGS from the old rural development programme (ERDP) to RDPE