The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is a £3.9 billion, seven year (2007-13) rural investment programme jointly funded by the European Union and United Kindom, through the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, which aims to:
For our East of England region, the programme is administered by EEDA ( East of England Development Agency), which has £65 million of RDPE funding to distribute amongst projects, of which £20 million will be delivered through the community led, bottom-up 'Leader approach'. For further information visit: www.eeda.org.uk We are one of six Local Action Groups in the East of England to have secured investment funding under the Leader approach. The only other LAG area in Bedfordshire is The Chilterns with approximately £500000 to invest in rural development projects in the southern part of the county. For further information visit: ngage
• Safeguard and enhance the rural environment
• Improve the competitiveness of the agriculture sector
• Foster sustainable and thriving rural businesses and economies