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News added 17 January 2008
Funding bid for the Greensand Ridge -
one step closer!
We are delighted to report that ,following consideration by
a regional panel of initial expressions of interest for the
Rural Development Programme for England's Leader approach, the
Greensand Ridge Local Action Group has been
invited to submit a full Local Development Strategy.
The bid for £3m funding is being facilitated by BRCC and
BRAF, with the input of a wide range of interest groups.
It's not too late to get involved - find out more on our
Greensand Ridge page, where
updates on the next steps and future meetings will be posted.
We would still particularly like to hear from farmers, tourism
and other rural businesses and community groups in the Greensand
Ridge area.
Transport token scheme to go countywide
Members of the Youth Parliament have secured a grant of
£50,000 from the Youth Opportunities Fund so that a transport
token scheme that has operated for five years in
Mid-Bedfordshire can be rolled out countywide. The
existing scheme was introduced by Mid Beds District Council (MBDC)
has helped thousands of children and young people in the
district. The scheme will help tackle rural isolation
among some people, and improve access to activities and youth
engagement projects.
The transport tokens are used to pay local taxi firms who
have signed up to the scheme, Stagecoach buses and First Capital
Connect trains. The scheme does not cover transport for
unsupervised leisure activities, formal training, one-to-one
support services or formal education.
Youth projects and organisations which offer youth engagement
activities for eight to 19 year olds living or going to school
in Bedfordshire are invited to apply to the scheme. Young people
are not individually eligible to join.
For more details, visit the district council
website
under Community Services - youth work, or call Katy Henman on
01462 611008.
Parish plans and effective community involvement
in spatial planning
New guidance from the Planning Advisory Service has
recognised the value of parish planning and other community
planning to local authorities in developing their Local
Development Frameworks.
The guidance "Local development frameworks - effective
community involvement" is based on work the Planning Advisory
Service has been doing with over 50 local authorities over the
past year. Whilst generally
speaking community plans are not statutory documents, the report
recommends councils should consider how such projects can be
supported as part of their approach to spatial planning, and
linked to (and provide benefits for) the preparation of
Development Plan Documents. It also says authorities should seek
to "enable" communities to lead on the development of effective
community plans for their area, and that sufficient guidance and
focus should be provided to ensure they are sufficiently robust
to be useful to the broader Local Development Framework.
More
Consultation on the Joint
Economic Development Strategy for Bedfordshire and Luton
Bedfordshire
and Luton Economic Development Partnership (BLEDP)
is seeking comments on “Delivering Economic Growth”,
the consultation draft of the revised Joint Economic
Development Strategy. The last
strategy was published in 2005. Much of the Partnership’s
strategic work since has been around getting broad public
and private sector buy-in to the headline target of the
creation of 50,000 net additional jobs in the sub-region’s
economy by 2021.
The consultation runs until 29 February 2008.
The draft strategy can be downloaded
from
BLEDP.
BLEDP is also
planning to hold a stakeholder workshop to further develop
the action plan for the strategy on the 18th March
2008. If you would like to participate in this event, please
contact BLEDP on 01525 862999.
Proposals for future unitary structures in Bedfordshire:
Stakeholder Consultation
The Government is seeking views on proposals for future unitary
structures in Bedfordshire. The deadline for comments is
13 February . View the consultation document
here
Rural Economy and Affordable Housing:
Call for Evidence
The Prime Minister
has asked Matthew Taylor, MP for Truro and St Austell, to
conduct a review on how land use and planning can better support
rural business and deliver affordable housing. Many rural
communities are faced by a combination of higher than average
house prices and lower than average local wages. This can create
challenges for individual families, the local economy and the
wider sustainability of the community. Matthew Taylor will be
seeking to explore how these issues can be addressed - within
the context of existing protection for the natural environment -
through the application of land use and planning policy.
A call for evidence has been issued by the
Taylor Review team, with a deadline of 7 March. More on
the
Taylor Review
website.
Preparing for Change and Growth in Housing in South
Bedfordshire 2008-2013
Community TV in Bedfordshire
Local-News TV is a new
company that is capturing on film the good
things that are happening in Bedfordshire. The idea of a local
community website with video films featuring
good news stories in Bedfordshire came from
Judy Oliver and Steve Davies, who work in
the corporate world delivering leadership
and team development, helping businesses
improve communication and effectiveness. Local-News TV film
crews are out and about in the towns
and villages of Bedfordshire capturing good
news stories, filming local events and
placing them on the website
www.local-news.tv
which went live on 5th December.
So get in touch with
them if you
have an event or local interest story that
can be filmed, or if you want to get
involved in capturing what's going on in the county.
£65M investment programme for rural
businesses and communities in East of England 'Opens for
Business'
Rural businesses and communities across the East
of England are encouraged to consider business and community
development opportunities that are now available from the £65
million Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is responsible for
managing the delivery of part of the RDPE in the region. The fund, which runs until the
end of 2013, is designed to help rural businesses in increasing
their efficiency, help them to develop new markets and products,
assist new businesses to succeed and support rural communities.
More
Under the 'Leader' part of the
programme, nearly a third of the money will be for projects that
local community groups, working together, have decided they
really need and that will have a lasting change. As
reported above, a bid under this element of
the wider programme is under development for the Greensand Ridge
in Bedfordshire.
How green is your
valley?Residents
in the East of England can now find out how the environment on
their doorstep is being protected, by the click of a mouse.
Natural England has launched a new online map so that for the
first time the public can see where their money is being spent
to help protect this region's countryside through agri-environment
schemes. These green grants help farmers and other land
managers conserve and enhance the natural environment.
Natural England
Business in the Community Awards 2008 -
Rural Action Award
The Northern Foods Rural Action Award, supported by the
Commission for Rural Communities, is open for entries. The
award recognises and rewards companies that are addressing
issues faced by rural communities and helping create and
maintain a vibrant, sustainable rural economy.
More
The village church for village life
award 2008
You can nominate a church to win
the Country Life Village Church for Village Life Award 2008.
The
award will be presented
for the finest adaptation of a historic rural parish church
which allows for its continuing life as a place of worship as
well as encouraging a use of the building for the wider benefit
of the village community in the 21st century.
The award is to be presented by Sir Roy Strong and is generously
supported by the Mercers' Company. The winning church will be
awarded a prize of £10,000 and the runner up one of £5,000. The
closing date for entries is 5 February, Shrove Tuesday.
More |
