Rural Development Programme for England
SEEDA helps rural areas in the South East through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), a £63million rural fund that SEEDA manages. The programme supports the land-based sector and small business and communities through the 14 local Leader Partnerships across the South East and by supporting larger, strategic projects across the South East.
The RDPE provides a wide range of support for capital and revenue projects and training for farmers, growers, foresters, rural businesses, food businesses and rural communities. Examples of projects:
- Regional Minister for the South East Jonathan Shaw recently congratulated LandSkills South East to mark the £2.1million programme’s first year at Humber VHB in Chichester and the start of a £4million LandSkills winter training season across England. LandSkills South East is managed by Lantra Sector Skills Council on behalf of SEEDA.
- A number of farm diversification projects which will create additional income stream for farmers, including one project involving the development of a local food hub
- Five on-farm reservoirs to improve water storage and management to reduce summer abstraction from rivers and improve sustainable summer irrigation
- A major anaerobic digestion project converting vegetable waste into energy.
For more information, please click here.
Farmers can now apply for grants for small scale capital projects to improve resource efficiency on farm and animal health and welfare across the South East. For more information on the FRIP please click here
Rural Broadband
Rural communities throughout the South East and London can now apply for capital grants for support towards the establishment of a limited number of pilot broadband projects in rural areas. For more information please click here
