John Coles reports: From April 2008, rural communities are to benefit from more than £10 million of Defra funding.

The funding of nearly £3.5 million a year for the next three years will support Rural Community Councils (RCCs) on the Isle of Wight and across England, in their work to ensure that the needs of rural communities are understood and addressed at the local, regional and national levels. 

Discussions with Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), the national umbrella body for RCCs, will start soon on how the funding will be spent most effectively.

Rural Affairs Minister, Jonathan Shaw said:

“This is the first time that Defra has awarded a single, simplified grant to the Rural Community Councils network. This funding will give the network more flexibility to respond to local needs, to plan for the long term and achieve even more for their money.

The Government is committed to ensuring that rural needs are represented across government policy and the public sector.”

The detailed arrangements for the new funding will be worked up over the next few months, with a view to the first tranche of the new funding being paid in April 2008.
 
Defra

Isle of Wight Rural Community News By John Coles @Island Pulse.