Rural Fund welcomes new grant applications

The call will remain open until 5pm on Friday 7th October with applications welcomed from the rural areas of Lisburn City Council as well as Belfast and Castlereagh.

The core objective of the fund is to improve the quality of life in rural areas by supporting a wide range of activities. These include diversification into non-agricultural activities, support for business creation, encouragement of tourism activities, support to improve access to basic services for rural communities and conservation and upgrading of rural heritage.

Applications are particularly welcomed from private individuals and businesses, voluntary and community groups. As delivery agent for the programme in Lisburn, Castlereagh and Belfast Council areas, Lagan Rural Partnership is committed to maximising grant uptake from its programme budget of £8.7m.

A dedicated team of staff based at Lisburn Council’s Island Civic Centre are available to provide day to day delivery of the programme including advice and assistance to prospective applicants. The unit also provides an efficient grant claims processing service. Lagan Rural Partnership has enjoyed considerable success to date in the delivery of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme Fund (2007-2013) and grant payments have already been made to applicants from within the local childcare, equestrian, rural tourism, manufacturing, marketing and engineering sectors.

Despite the ongoing adverse effects of the global recession Lagan Rural Partnership is particularly pleased to note a significant increase in successful applications from local engineering companies including aeronautical, precision and steel fabrication. Many of these applications have resulted from new sales orders and reflect renewed optimism and buoyancy within the local rural economy, particularly with the prospect of new job creation and economic growth.

Among these successes is Fabrite Engineering Ltd, a dynamic and expanding steel fabrication and architectural metalwork business based near Maghaberry. Fabrite provides a comprehensive range of services covering everything from feasibility studies, surveying, planning, design, manufacture and installation.

Due to increased sales orders and the need to expand production capability Fabrite has recently been successful in an application to Lagan Rural Partnership for a capital grant of approximately £50k for material handling equipment at its recently refurbished premises at Hallstown Road, Maghaberry.

Fabrite’s Managing Director Kenny McAleenon said: “This new facility gives us the opportunity to develop our company goal of a total façade package of structural steelwork, cladding, glazing and rain screen systems. Since the introduction of our new handling system we have been able to secure £3m of work which includes Olympic 2012 projects”

Cllr Anne – Marie Beattie, who has recently been re-elected as Chairperson of the Partnership’s Joint Committee added:

“Lagan Rural Partnership is committed to delivering rural development grant assistance within the Lagan Rural Partnership area of Lisburn, Castlereagh and Belfast and welcomes new as well as return applicants to our eighth call which opens on Monday 22 August.”

This view is supported by Lagan Rural Partnership’s Local Action Group Chairperson Cllr Allan Ewart who added: “I would strongly encourage prospective applicants to the fund to contact our project staff who will be pleased to provide direction and support in all aspects of your application.”

For further advice you can contact the following project staff or the Admin Unit should you require an application pack: Emma Donaghy 92 509389, Peter Shortt 92 509391 or the Admin Unit 92 509419