RURAL land and business owners have been warned not to miss out on funding that becomes available this summer through the LEADER scheme which is operated by various different local action groups (LAGs) across England.

LEADER funding is available to local businesses, communities, farmers, foresters and land managers for projects that create jobs, help businesses to grow, and benefit the rural economy.

Phillip Nicholson, a rural partner at the Marlborough office of national property consultancy Carter Jonas, has said that one of the problems with the scheme is that the names of the various delivery bodies do not necessarily tie in with geographical boundaries.

“It’s necessary to do a quite detailed search of the maps to ensure what LAG covers which areas and around Marlborough it’s possible that it could be one of three areas, although most of the district comes within the North Wessex Downs LAG boundary,” says Mr Nicholson.

“Money is allocated from the Rural Development Programme for England and grants of up to £50,000 may be available for schemes, particularly those that bring job creation and strengthen the rural economy.

"There is a proviso that the rest of the scheme must be funded from the applicant’s private funds or bank lending but not through other grant schemes such as the National Lottery or via the Basic Payment Scheme.

“Applicants must also have interim funding for the project in place before work starts as the LEADER scheme payments arrive once the project is completed, which could be a major hurdle."

Eligibility varies around the country and local action groups decide which projects they will fund in their area.

All projects must support one or more of the six LEADER priorities to:

1. Support micro and small businesses and farm diversification

2. Boost rural tourism

3. Increase farm productivity

4. Increase forestry productivity

5. Provide rural services

6. Provide cultural and heritage activities

Mr Nicholson said: "For some applicants, already struggling with the Basic Payment Scheme registration problems and altered deadlines, looking at the LEADER project may be a step too far.

“However, LEADER in its current phase lasts until 2020 and it’s important that those with potentially qualifying schemes do not neglect its possibilities.

“The slow rural broadband speeds still endured in many rural areas can make even downloading the maps to show geographic coverage a lengthy process and each body works to its own website design so it’s not always straightforward discovering information for applicants close to or straddling boundaries.

"My advice is to persevere as this funding really could be a lifeline for projects that fail to qualify for aid in other rural schemes.”

More information, including a boundary map for the different schemes, can be found at www.gov.uk/rural-development-programme-for-england-leader-funding