1,131 projects funded by Rural Priorities grants

Projects approved from this round of the Rural Priorities scheme within the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) will give £96.6million to rural communities and create or sustain more than 200 jobs. This brings the total investment approved to £257.8 million.

Projects to have funding approved include the conversion of a farm steading near Forres which will bring 50-70 jobs to the area, a new restaurant and guesthouse for the Western Isles and a plan to improve wildlife habitats in Angus.

Rural Secretary Richard Lochhead said:

“Rural communities produce food and generate tourism – two of the key drivers powering the Scottish economy. Rural Priorities is of considerable importance to Scotland’s Economic Recovery Programme, with £34.6 million of this new funding going directly to farming and rural businesses to help improve their competitiveness.”

“Over a number of years, more than £60 million will also go towards environmental and forestry projects which will protect and improve Scotland’s natural environment and help meet our targets on climate change. A large number of forestry projects in particular have been approved in this round, which will be valuable to the development of the sector.”

“This has been another very successful round of assessments with interest in Rural Priorities now at record levels.”

This is the sixth round of approvals from the Rural Priorities scheme. £257.8 million has now been approved, funding around 3,600 projects in rural Scotland. For more details please go to: www.scotland.gov.uk/srdp.

The funding for this round is broken down as follows:

Projects funded this time round range from tiny grants for small farm-based projects up to sizeable awards for developments which will completely change communities across Scotland. The range is illustrated by the different projects outlined below:

Case studies are available at: www.scotland.gov.uk/srdp