What's New
Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE)
A new rural development programme, successor to the ERDP, will run from 2007 to 2013. More information is available on the Defra website. Information about the new programme in the West Midlands can be found here.
Rural Conference
The Annual WMRAF Conference - Sustainable Rural Communities: 'Our Future in Your Hands' - was held on Friday 16 November 2007 at Dunchurch Park Hotel and Conference Centre, Rugby. A report of the event can be viewed from the Conference 2007 page.
West Midlands Rural Delivery Framework (WMRDF)
The WMRDF was developed by the West Midlands Rural Accord, following publication by Defra of its Rural Strategy 2004. It was issued in April 2006. The Framework is the result of detailed consultation with partners across the region, including an online consultation which took place between 10 November 2005 and 13 February 2006. Its purpose is to influence regional policy and action, based on regional and local strategies, and to reflect agreed priorities for rural delivery.
WMRDF implementation (1)
As part of the WMRDF implementation a specialist task group is rural proofing work on the Regional Spatial Strategy revision. See below under Planning.
WMRDF implementation (2)
In order to sustain the continuing development of the Framework, a series of test modelling exercises and additional support facility have been commissioned. This is in line with some of the key actions identified in the Framework Action Plan. In particular, Rural Accord partners are keen to develop mechanisms which combine the top down strategic response to access issues (at sub-regional levels) with a bottom up community response to local needs, circumstances and priorities.
The access aspirations of rural customers are an important part of implementing the Framework. Some recent work with a remote community in South Shropshire has provided a detailed overview of these; it also obtained the necessary evidence for a local scrutiny review of access to services.
Bucknell in South Shropshire was selected as an appropriate community for this project, being large enough (600 inhabitants) to enable a reasonable evidence base, while lacking the service delivery benefits of a market town. Work with the community involved building up capacity so as to ensure that local opinions would be voiced. This was followed by an analysis of access needs and priorities, and a detailed action plan has now been developed as a result. More information about this work can be found on the Shropshire Pathfinder website.
Closure of Defra’s ERDP project-based schemes
The ERDP project-based schemes - Rural Enterprise Scheme, the Processing and Marketing Grant, the Vocational Training Scheme and the Energy Crops (SRC) Producer Group Scheme - closed to new applications on 30 June 2006. The successor programme is the Rural Development Programme for England - see above.
Rural Renaissance
Advantage West Midlands' statement of a framework for community and economic/business renaissance in the rural West Midlands, Rural Renaissance, is available here in .pdf format. This document is accompanied by the Rural Renaissance Action Plan.
Natural England
Natural England has been formed by bringing together the whole or parts of three previous organisations: English Nature; the environment activities of the Rural Development Service; and the Countryside Agency’s Landscape, Access and Recreation division. This is in accordance with the Rural Strategy 2004.
Natural England began work formally on 2 October 2006. Its new website is located at www.naturalengland.org.uk. It has published a statement of strategic intent, Strategic Direction 2006-2009, which can be accessed here.
Commission for Rural Communities (CRC)
As a result of the Rural Strategy 2004, the CRC was established on 1 April 2005 as an operating division of the Countryside Agency. It became an independent body on 1 October 2006, following enactment of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act.
The Commission has three key functions:
- Rural advocate:
the voice for rural people, businesses and communities - Expert adviser:
giving evidence-based, objective advice to government and others - Independent watchdog:
monitoring and reporting on the delivery of policies nationally, regionally and locally
State of the Countryside 2007
Since 1999 the Countryside Agency began producing an annual State of the Countryside report. As a result of the changes announced in the Rural Strategy 2004, this responsibility has passed to the Commission for Rural Communities.
The 2007 State of the Countryside report was published in July 2007, and can be accessed here.