The 9th EMRAF annual conference will be held on Friday 2nd July 2010 at Eastwood Hall, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. Come along to this FREE conference and explore the benefits of Community Empowerment.

• Hear why community empowerment is important
• Learn how others have made a difference
• Explore how community empowerment could help you and get involved in delivering the East Midlands Rural Framework

Once again we will be inviting organisations to attend our ever popular Market Place. Stalls will be limited so book early to be guaranteed a place.

Delegate booking forms can be downloaded here, however, if you would like to book a market stall please call Pam Baker or Melanie Saxton on 01623 727600.

The Leicestershire Rural Partnership will be represented at the Conference and will have a stall

Free seminars outlining funding options for small arts, design and media businesses are taking place across Leicestershire and Rutland in the next few months. These events are hosted by Creative Leicestershire and will outline the different types of finance available such as grants and loans plus what funders are looking for. There will be information on specific schemes including Creative Leicestershire’s bursary scheme plus Inspire Leicestershire’s grants for rural businesses, and funds from Arts Council England, Princes Trust and Business Link.
The seminars, which will run from 6pm to 8pm, are being held at:

• Tuesday 27 April at Stenson Room, Snibston Discovery Park, Coalville LE67 3LN
• Tuesday 18 May at Catmose Gallery, Catmose Community College, Cold Overton Rd, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6NU
• Tuesday 8 June at The Factory, Spencer St, Hinckley LE10 1QH

Creative Leicestershire’s Development Bursary Scheme has a deadline of 25 June. The scheme is open to any small Leicestershire/Rutland-based arts, design or media business with 3 employees or less which has been trading for over a year. You can apply for up to £2,500.

More information on the scheme is on the funding pages of www.creativeleicestershire.org.uk
To book on to any of these free events please email lucia.masundire@leics.gov.uk
For more information contact Clare Hudson, Creative Industries Manager on clare.hudson@leics.gov.uk Tel: 0116 305 4117, Mob: 07802 277566

Please follow the link to download the latest Rural Digest

Business Link has recently launched a new online service to support the farming community

It includes links to:

• Running a business - information on managing employees, business planning, start ups, diversification, sales & marketing along with heath & safety
• Funding & grants
• Protecting the environment - stewardship schemes, wildlife, managing waste and land conservation
• Livestock - animal welfare and disease control
• Crops & Horticulture - production and plant health
• Organic systems and standards

More than £400,000 is set to be ploughed into Leicestershire's rural businesses over the next three years, thanks to new grants being made available.
Leicestershire Rural Partnership's (LRP) INSPIRE scheme (Investment Support in the Rural Economy) aims to support farmers, equestrian businesses, landowners, business partnerships, small accommodation providers and tourist attractions in rural Leicestershire and its market towns.
The LRP has a strong track record of supporting the local rural economy and INSPIRE will build on the success of the previous three year Rural Business Support Programme and Market Town Initiative. The Sqaure One Bistro in Market Bosworth is one example of a rural business which has received LRP support.
Lesley Pendleton, Chairman of the Leicestershire Rural Partnership (LRP) and Leicestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, said: “In these challenging times I can’t stress how important it is to support Leicestershire’s economy. I would like to encourage our rural business to take advantage of our new INSPIRE grants and I strongly urge people to get in touch with us to see if we can help.”

(Pictured from left to right, Vanessa Chalice and Raymond Fudge of Market Bosworth's Square One Bistro along with Tom Fisher, Leicestershire County Council, Andrew Granger, Chairman of the Leicester & Leicestershire Business Council and LRP Chairman, Councillor Lesley Pendleton pictured at the recent launch on the new INSPIRE grants)

INSPIRE is supported by Leicestershire County Council and the East Midlands Development Agency. For further information please visit: www.oakleaves.org.uk/inspire-leicestershire

Pubs Minister John Healey today announced a 12 point action plan to give practical support to community pubs up and down the country, backed by £4million in government funding.

New help will include £3.3million for business support to make pubs more successful and help communities buy into struggling pubs to keep them running. Business support is also in place for struggling membership clubs, “beer ties” will be slashed, and a consultation is underway on proposals to cut the requirement for music licences in certain venues.

Councils will also be given new powers through the planning system to intervene before a pub is demolished, giving a pause in the system for the local community to have their say. Restrictions on sales which prevent premises continuing as pubs will be also banned. The planning laws will allow pubs to branch out their business without planning permission into new commercial ventures, ranging from restaurants to gift shops and books shops, without the additional expense and time of seeking approval from the council.

The measures will give landlords the opportunity to have direct access to specialist, tailored business advice through ‘Pub is the Hub’, currently a voluntary support service for community pubs. Government funding of more than £1million will ensure that the group act as a specialist first-stop shop for advice on business support and diversification. Pub is the Hub will act as a gateway to advice, supporting pubs directly or passing them on to the most appropriate service such as Business Link.

In Leicestershire this support could be combined with our Vibrant Villages scheme through either our retail support grant or the
community spaces grant For further information about Vibrant Villages please e-mail:fiona.walker@leics.gov.uk

Grants of up to £500 are available for organisations and projects which are working to bring different groups of people together in Leicestershire.

The ‘Communities Together’ grant is intended to support community and voluntary organisations who are involved in local projects which:

• play an active role in getting different communities and groups of individuals together to increase understanding and communication
• promote inter-cultural education and relations
• introduce and engage new audiences, organisations and community groups to each other.

Eligible projects will be able to demonstrate their success in increasing cohesion and understanding between people from different age, faith and belief groups or of different abilities, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and gender.

The grant could be used to fund the promotion or development of local projects, workshops or training sessions for different community groups, consultation events, sporting events and much more.

The ‘Communities Together’ Grant Fund is open to projects operating in Leicestershire and applications will be assessed on a monthly basis.

For further information e-mail either Noel Singh or Tom Fisher

Rural communities must ensure they can play a role in the economy of the future or they face becoming "dormitories for the elderly".
That is the warning from the chairman of a group aimed at helping the Leicestershire countryside thrive.
Councillor Lesley Pendleton, from Leicestershire Rural Partnership, was speaking after a recent Government-commissioned report warned young people were being driven from rural areas by a lack of jobs and affordable housing.
The report calls for loosening of planning rules, better transport links and broadband access.
Read the rest of the article

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