South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

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SEEDA has awarded £29 million of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funds to 14 Leader Local Action Groups (LAG) in the South East region.

Each Local Action Group will receive delegated funding of between £1.6 million and £2.6 million for the period 2008 to 2013. It is these local groups who will decide where the share of the money goes, to ensure it fits local priorities. Farmers, foresters, growers, rural businesses and community organisations in South East England which fall into a Leader area can apply directly to their local Leader group for funding for projects. Each project that a Leader group supports can receive a grant of up to £50,000.

"Leader is a locally-led approach which will support a range of schemes to create wealth in rural areas. For example, to help increase the sale value of local produce; to provide renewable energy which will reduce businesses' running costs and tackle climate change; and to increase profits from tourism. The funds will help develop new enterprises as well as providing major opportunities for businesses and communities to work together to invest in their future.” Oona Muirhead, SEEDA Director for Sustainable Prosperity

The funding will cover a wide range of activities such as farm diversification, tourism activities, renewable energy projects, forestry projects, village renewal projects, support for micro businesses, and rural heritage projects.

To be eligible for funding through a Leader Local Action Group, your business must lie within a Local Action Group area. To find out whether you are located in a Leader Local Action Group area, use the Postcode Lookup Tool below, or click on the maps below.

Links:
Please read these instructions for using the Postcode Lookup Tool
Postcode Lookup Tool
Region-wide Leader Map – low resolution

Local Leader Groups
Note: There are higher resolution maps available at the bottom of this page.

Higher Resolution map downloads:

Region-wide leader map

Individual regions: Aylesbury Vale & Rural Milton Keynes | Chilterns | Winchester and East Hampshire | Isle of Wight | Kent Downs and Marshes | Loddon and Eversley | New Forest | North Wessex Downs | South Oxfordshire | Surrey Hills | Sussex Downs and Low Weald | Three Harbours and Coastal Plain | Weald and Rother | West Kent