EEDA - East of England Development Agency

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Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE)

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is partly funded through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and through funding provided by Defra.

The Programme is jointly delivered by EEDA, The Forestry Commission and Natural England.

EEDA will use the funding to improve the competitiveness of the agricultural sector and to safeguard and enhance sustainable rural businesses across the region. It will help rural communities and business including farmers, growers and foresters invest in their long term economic future.

EEDA's aim is to ensure RDPE benefits as many people as possible. By giving careful consideration to how funding is allocated, encouraging collaborative working and ensuring that funding is only granted where no other funding source is available, EEDA will affect a considerable change for rural communities and businesses.

How much funding is available?

RDPE is funded by the European Commission and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The majority of programme funds are allocated to improving the environment through Environmental Stewardship - administered by Natural England and the English Woodland Grant Scheme - administered by the Forestry Commission.

EEDA's allocation is £65 million, out of this, some £20 million will be delivered though the Leader approach led by Local Action Groups (LAGs)

What will RDPE funding be focused on?

A set of seven themes have been agreed regionally to help focus support and address the issues that the region's rural areas face. They are:

• Business efficiency: focuses on knowledge transfer, skills development and collaboration. This will increase supply-chain efficiency for the agricultural, food and forestry industries, encourage water and energy efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy and reduce waste. 
• New markets and products: supports new product development and marketing. This will add value and develop markets for existing food, farming and forestry products and support the creation of new markets and products for the agricultural, food and forestry industries.
• New businesses and enterprises in the rural economy: supports new business development in the land based sector by creating new employment opportunities. This will broaden the rural economic base and support diversification of agricultural and forestry businesses. 
• Resource protection: addresses diffuse pollution and improvements in the management of water, waste and soil in the agricultural and forestry sectors. This will reduce the environmental impact of both sectors and improve the ecological condition of the environment.
• Conservation of the natural built and historic environment: maintains and enhances existing environmental assets and creates new habitats where appropriate. This will support adaptation to and mitigation against climate change. 
• Access and recreation: opens up new areas of the rural landscape to provide public access. This will help communities access their rural landscape, promote accessibility for minority groups, build on opportunities provided by commercial access and increase public awareness and enjoyment of the rural environment.
• Rural community capacity: supports communities to be sustainable. This will help communities address their sustainable development needs, build capacity in rural communities so they can achieve sustainable, economic growth, develop links with local businesses and supply chains and encourage community activities that benefit the environment and countryside.

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