After a successful first year of delivery, LandSkills East Midlands, part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), is now looking for someone to manage the programme on a full time fixed term basis until January 2012.
Lantra, who manages LandSkills East Midlands on behalf of the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), is looking for an enthusiastic individual to join its regional team to work on the programme aimed at improving the competitiveness, efficiency and profitability of the region’s agriculture, horticulture and forestry industries through skills and knowledge transfer.
Working closely with EMDA’s rural team the individual who is offered this role will manage delivery of the RDPE skills funding in the region; facilitate workshops with livestock farmers; build relationships with training providers to maximise their output and be pro-active in highlighting and dealing with any potential for under performance; produce reports for EMDA.
To be successful in this home-based role you should be:

• a self starter
• have previous experience of project management
• have excellent report writing
• livestock industry knowledge
• networking skills
• the ability to work to deadlines.

The salary is £30,000 per annum plus company car.
For further information and a full job description, log on to www.lantra.co.uk/about-us/vacancies/landskills-east-midlands-programme-manager/ or call 02476 858 406.
The closing date for receipt of applications is Tuesday March 16th 2010.

In a second development in the waterways field; as part of its ‘Twenty Twenty Debate’, British Waterways is proposing that its 2,200 mile, 200 year old waterway network is moved out of direct state control and into a new third sector trust organisation.
The recently published report – ‘Setting a new course: Britain's waterways in the third sector’ – sets out some of the opportunities such a path would offer. British Waterways is encouraging partners, stakeholders and customers to get involved and share their opinions. Jo Gilbertson from the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), which is a member of The Heritage Alliance, said: “A change in status should enable British Waterways to develop its property income stream in a more effective manner, freeing it from some of the limitations on borrowing and investment that it is currently shackled with. This should allow it to focus more on active restoration and regeneration as well as generating more income. IWA therefore supports further investigation of this approach.”
To have your say email twentytwenty@britishwaterways.co.uk British Waterways will put forward firm recommendations in the Spring. To view the report visit www.britishwaterways.co.uk/twentytwenty/setting-a-new-course

Tobias Ellwood MP, the Shadow Tourism Minister, was in Hinkley & Bosworth yesterday as a guest of the Hinckley & Bosworth Tourism Partnership.
Following lunch and round table discussions at Bosworth Hall, the party, which also included local MP, David Tredinnick, then attended a networking event for local businesses at Twycross Zoo.
The invited audience were able to hear at first from Mr Ellwood the Conservative priorities for tourism.
The LRP was on hand to promote the rural visitor elements of the new INSPIRE grants and the afternoon provided some useful leads.
Matthew Kempson, the LRP's Rural Partnerships Manager, said, "The LRP was very pleased to attend, local events like this are extremely important to help us promote our work and give us the opportunity to meet local businesses face to face."
(Pictured from left, David Treddinick, MP, Tobias Ellwood, MP and Jonathan Clarkson, LRP Communications Officer)

The LRP is keen to encourage funding bids from local partnership organisations to help support Leicestershire's food and drink, equestrian and tourism sector. The funding is part of the INSPIRE Leicestershire programme which aims to deliver projects against our rural economic priorities.

Eligible activities could include promotional literature, events, partnership websites etc. These are not exclusive so please call 0116 305 6179 to discuss your project ideas.

Applications will be considered on a first come first served basis. There is no match funding requirement and no upper funding limit.

The deadline for receipt of applications is Monday 15th March 2010 and projects need to spend available funding by the 31st March 2010. Please note that the funding is not available within Leicester City.

To apply for funding please complete the attached application form (or click the title to this news item) and submit to matthew.kempson@leics.gov.uk

The recently appointed Archdeacon of Loughborough, the Venerable David Newman, was a guest of Leicestershire County Council earlier this week.
Following a welcome by Chief Executive, John Sinnott, the role and structure of the Authority was explained through a series of presentations, including, the Council's work around partnership delivery, faith communities and community cohesion.
Later in the day David was able to see at first hand a small selection of LRP supported projects. The afternoon began with lunch at the new tearoom in Twycross garden centre, which was supported through an LRP Vibrant Villages grant, the affordable housing scheme at Sheepy Magna (pictured). Finally, he was also shown the new community room at St Michael and All Angels Church in Fenny Drayton which was also supported through Vibrant Villages.

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) is once again running the Local Council Awards, recognising councils, councillors, clerks and workers who are making a real difference in their local community.
This year’s awards categories are:

• Council of the year supported by AON;
• Clerk of the year supported by AON;
• Councillor of the year supported by the Commission for Rural Communities;
• Council worker of the year supported by The Co-operative Bank; and
• Much improved council of the year sponsored by Standards for England.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 31 March 2010.

For further information about the awards and application details please see the awards brochure.

Rural Economy Officer
Leicestershire County Council
£22,218 - £24,576

Chief Executives Department, County Hall, Glenfield
Job Reference Number: 461CE
Closing Date 15th February 2010, Temporary until 30th September 2012

To assist in identifying, developing, promoting and implementing arrangements to enhance the coordination and effectiveness of the rural economy in Leicestershire through the delivery of the Leicestershire Rural Partnership’s (LRP) INSPIRE Leicestershire programme. To support the work of the County Council and key partnerships, in particular the LRP, Leicestershire Together (the Local Strategic Partnership for the county) and the District Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs).

Essential Requirements:

• Educated to degree (or equivalent) level in a relevant subject or significant level of work experience relevant to the essential criteria
• Experience of developing, implementing, managing and evaluating projects
• Experience of collaborative working with others to ensure the achievement of key objectives and the best use of resources, including through project steering groups
• Experience of researching and reviewing specific issues and analysing information and data to inform delivery

For informal enquiries please telephone Matthew Kempson on 0116 3056179

An on-line application form can be found at http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/jobs/job_detailpage.htm?id=184707

The Rural Action Plan takes into account of recent economic changes and focusses on four new priorities areas:

• Sustainable and Inclusive Communities (Including Housing)
• A Thriving Rural Economy
• Quality Services Accessible to All
• High Quality Rural Environment

An electronic copy can be downloaded at www.ruralaffairs.org.uk/uploads/plan/Framework.pdf

Please contact Lynn Hage, EMRAF Communications Officer, on 01623 727600 if you would like a hard copy of the document.

We are pleased to announce the availability of £400,000 worth of funding to support businesses in Leicestershire’s market towns and rural areas up to October 2012.

Building on the successes of former Rural Business Support Programme and Market Towns Initiative, the INSPIRE Leicestershire programme will provide much needed support to help deliver the Leicestershire Rural Partnership’s economic priorities contained within the Leicestershire Rural Strategy, 2007-14. The programme is jointly funded by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and Leicestershire County Council.

Full details, including the funding criteria, eligibility and application process, can be found on the LRP’s Oakleaves website at www.oakleaves.org.uk/inspire

Other elements of the programme will include support for businesses partnerships within market towns and rural centres, and funding to support some of our key rural sectors.

For further information please e-mail matthew.kempson@leics.gov.uk , tel: 0116 305 6179 or ruralgrants@leics.gov.uk , tel: 0116 305 5673.

Leicestershire was the main featured destination in the BBC's most recent Country Tracks programme. The show spotlighted Dickinson & Morris pork pies and the biodiversity in and around Bardon Hill.
You can watch it again on the BBC i-player http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q2mdn#synopsis