Rural services

Transport Scotland’s Low Carbon Travel and Transport Challenge Fund is now open for Round 2 applications. Energy Saving Trust administers the fund on behalf of Transport Scotland.

Public, community and third sector organisations can apply for funding under the European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020 Programme to facilitate the delivery of active travel and low carbon transport hubs.

The Annual Implementation Report (AIR) of the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) has been published.

Covering the first three years of the 2014-2020 Programme, the full report and Summary for Citizens can be viewed on the Scottish Government website.

Scottish Rural Action want to find out how travel issues and costs affect young people in their work, studies and personal lives.

They also want to know if the impacts are felt equally across Scotland's rural areas or if there are particular issues in different parts of the country. Scottish Rural Action are carrying out a short online survey to gather information from 16 to 26-year-olds.

In previous results on rural transport surveys, Scottish Rural Action were told:

In this report, Ailsa Clark from Inspiralba tells us about the European Network for Rural Development Thematic Group for Smart Villages event held in Brussels on 26 October 2017.

The Smart Villages European Union (EU) Action has a focus on revitalising rural services through both digital and social innovation in rural areas.

There is still to enter the Rural Community Co-operative Awards 2017.

The awards are run by the charity Plunkett Foundation and seek the best examples of rural community action from across the UK. This year's awards close for entries on Friday 27 October.

An exciting new LEADER-funded project to increase horse-riding holidays in the Scottish Borders has received the go ahead.

Funds have now been secured to employ an equestrian tourism coordinator for 2 years. They will liaise with all relevant interests including businesses and land managers to encourage cooperation, develop marketing, improve digital mapping and to support local and longer distance rides.

Your views are wanted in a consultation on free bus passes for older and disabled people and Modern Apprentices.

The Scottish Government is launching this Consultation to seek your views on the concessionary travel scheme for older and disabled people ("the Scheme").

All types of projects - no matter the size, location or technologies - are being encouraged to apply for the European Broadband Awards 2017.

If you're a public or private organisation involved in a project providing people with access to high-speed broadband internet you can apply.

The projects will apply to, and will be awarded in, one of the five categories:

A new walking and cycling route in Tyndrum which allows cyclists to bypass the A82 trunk road has officially opened.

The new path has been created by the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs Countryside Trust and is suitable for cyclists, horses, buggies and walkers and includes a brand new bridge connecting the communities and businesses of Tyndrum and Crianlarich.

Are you a business owner in rural Scotland? Complete this survey on rural Britain’s digital potential.