LEADER funding for D&G projects

Dumfries & Galloway LEADER are delighted to confirm that they have awarded just over £740,000 to a number of diverse and innovative projects over the past six months. 

Rural Enterprise

Project: Hold the Front Page!

• Organisation: Muckle Toon Media
• LEADER Grant: £50,000

Hold the Front Page! is a unique opportunity to create a multi-media Community Interest Company to fill the gap left by the planned closure of the Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser by Cumbria News Group at the end of March 2017.

The company will be locally owned and accountable with a voluntary board of Directors who will have an appropriate mix of skills. The project will support the economy and culture of Eskdale through advertising and profiling of local businesses and by promoting our locally based artists and makers.  

People will have the opportunity to learn new skills such as writing for the paper, social media and the web, interviewing, photography, editing, film making, proof reading, reporting, design of adverts and other media related activities.

Project: Wild Oak Woods Eco-Campsite

• Organisation: Hands On Environmental Education
• LEADER Grant: £50,000

Wild Oak Woods Eco-campsite project will create a low carbon tourist facility in a hidden valley within the Stewartry National Scenic Area. The development will increase coastal, rural tourism using good environmental design and renewable energy sources to create a niche market, back to nature holiday experience which will be an example of Eco-tourism at its best.

The project creates a symbiotic relationship between a sustainable small business and a stunning, biodiverse wildlife site. It will ensure the economic stability of the business, add to the economic growth of the area and safeguard a site of valuable biodiversity. It will raise awareness of the natural assets of Dumfries and Galloway both nationally and beyond.

Farm Diversification

Project: Ernespie Farm Centre

• Organisation: Messrs J McMiken
• LEADER Grant: £50,000

Ernespie farm will be diversifying into a visitor Farm Centre and as part of this; LEADER will support indoor sensory play equipment, an outdoor play area, meet the animals barn, educational technology and a wheelchair friendly footbridge. This is to create a hub that is accessible to all within the local community. It has always been an ambition to bring the public on farm to create the link between food production and consumption and to educate people on the origin of their food.

This will be very much a hands-on learning experience for children and adults alike. As part of the ‘meet the animals’ barns, there is many activities planned including small animal petting, large animal feeding, milking demonstration and woodland walk. This will be an educational yet fun experience, allowing children to not only see how food is produced but also be engaged with activities.

Communities

Project: Bridge to Employment

• Organisation: Better Lives Partnership
• LEADER Grant: £63,271.00

The Bridge to Employment aims to establish an alternative post-school progression route for young people in the Stewartry Area of Dumfries and Galloway with Additional Support Needs (mainly young people under the age of 25 with Autism Spectrum Disorder – ASD) into Further Education, Training or Employment. The target group are ‘more able’ young people with additional support needs who have already gained national qualifications but require additional support to take the next step to work or further education to fulfil their potential. Training in supporting and working with people with ASD will be provided to businesses, employers and Further Education Institutions who become involved

Project: Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels – Developing Community Action

• Organisation: Scottish Wildlife Trust
• LEADER Grant: £105,355.00

Once widespread, red squirrels have undergone a catastrophic decline, primarily due to competition from the non-native, invasive American grey squirrel. The innovative Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels partnership has established through a trial period that it is possible to halt the decline of red squirrels via co-ordinated grey squirrel control. Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels – Developing Community Action” will develop a more sustainable way to secure the future of red squirrels over the long-term in Dumfries and Galloway, moving away from reliance on paid staff towards creating communities that are supported, motivated and capable of acting together to project  red squirrels in their local area.

Project: D&G Promoters & Performing Artists Network

• Organisation: Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival
• LEADER Grant: £50,000

Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival now wishes to expand from being a ten-day annual festival into an organisation that supports the development of the performing arts sector on a year-round basis. The Arts Live Promoters and Performing Arts Network, utilises the local and national networks developed through its popular annual arts festival and applies best practice from 'Rural Touring' performing arts schemes. Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival is a trusted and supportive organisation that provides practical support and enables development in the sector. The arts festival which LEADER has previously invested in will continue, and benefit from the partnerships developed through this project.

Project: Restoring Annan’s Water – Community Engagement Project

• Organisation: River Annan Trust
• LEADER Grant: £45,775.00

RAW Community Engagement Project will raise awareness of the River Annan environment and the benefits of delivering river restoration. The Project will work to address the environmental issues facing the Annan catchment in an innovative way: by focusing on river-based educational activities and skills training, the project will facilitate the development of an engaged and environmentally minded community base equipped with the skills necessary to contribute to river restoration on the Annan.

A community engagement officer will be appointed to deliver a programme of education, engagement and practical habitat improvement activities over two years. Activities will include a primary school education initiative, citizen science scheme, skills training for young adults, landowner engagement, volunteering opportunities and the delivery of physical improvements to the environment through small-scale habitat restoration workshops.

Project: Borders Community Broadband

• Organisation: Southern Upland Partnership
• LEADER Grant: £5003.46

The overall project objective is to enable the delivery of fast broadband services to up to 2,000 premises in rural parts of the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway (and a few in South Lanarkshire) that are not expected to be served by commercial providers.

This LEADER bid is for a Project Manager, support services and community engagement activities to represent local community interests, and collaboratively deliver the project together with Community Broadband Scotland.

Project: Whithorn Way

• Organisation: Whithorn Trust
• LEADER Grant: £73,199.65

This project will promote and market the Whithorn Way, a long distance footpath along the ancient pilgrimage route to Whithorn, through aerial film and smartphone apps and by publishing a guidebook with community contributions. An off road path: Whithorn to St Ninian's Cave, will be created.

Project: Connecting in Communities

• Organisation: Glenkens Community & Arts Trust
• LEADER Grant: 149,541.00

Working across three Glenkens villages, this project will support volunteers to take a lead in designing, delivering and evaluating a programme of activity designed to improve both their own lives and those of their fellow community members. Through this it is hoped to that the project will be accessible so that everyone in the community has the opportunity to influence and get involved in community led activity; focussed on building the strengths and assets of people and communities; and connected to the work of other organisations and community-led groups across the locale. 

Cooperation

Project: Day of the Region

• Organisation: Dumfries & Galloway Council
• LEADER Grant: £243,194.66

The Day of the Region Legacy Project will be a three-year transnational cooperation project between territories in several Member States.  A cooperation offer distributed through the Scottish Rural Network and European Network for Rural Development identified potential partners in Ireland, Germany, Poland and Romania.

This project will encourage innovation and collaboration – adding scale to the project and building social cohesion between people in different areas – and permits further analysis of methodology toward sustainability. We will develop joint-working practices with a thematic focus on community capacity-building, succession planning and social and economic impact.

Project: South Scotland Golden Eagle Project

• Organisation: The Langholm Initiative
• LEADER Grant: £158,023 (Split 50% by D&G and Scottish Borders LAG)

The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP) is an exciting, ambitious and collaborative project between land managers and conservationists working to increase the breeding population and range of golden eagles in the South of Scotland. Identified by the Scottish Government as a priority for its biodiversity conservation programme, this offers a ground-breaking opportunity to galvanise community interest and support for Scotland's iconic bird.

The projects legacy will be a healthier and viable population of golden eagles in the South of Scotland, enjoyed and supported by local communities and land managers, and forming the basis for greatly enhanced eco-tourism opportunities and wider economic development. This project is an inter-territorial cooperation project between D&G and Scottish Borders LAG.

Find out more about Dumfries & Galloway LEADER.

More about LEADER across Scotland

You can find out about LEADER across Scotland in the LEADER section of our website, where you can also submit an Expression of Interest form if you have an idea for a project.

And watch our short film below to find out more about six inspiring projects that received funding in the LEADER 2007-2013 programme.

Scottish LEADER programme from ScottishRuralNetwork on Vimeo.