Rural Planning Service wins Northwest award

A business service delivered by Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency since 2001 has won the NW Best Rural Planning Project Award from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) as well as being shortlisted for a national category.

“The Rural Planning Facilitation Service (RPFS) was initiated by research undertaken by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) back in 2000,” explained Lynne Fox, Business Support and Planning Manager at CREA. “We managed the pilot of the scheme in Cumbria and Lancashire and the NWDA funded the pilot and then roll-out of the initiative across three counties. The Scheme has helped over 1600 businesses since then and aims to offer advice before someone submits a planning application for a new development.”

“The regional RTPI judges were impressed by the pioneering nature of this unique rural planning service,” said NW Awards Coordinator, Mike Eastham. “Its support for the development of rural planning expertise and awareness is excellent and it is a useful model for work elsewhere in the UK.”

Lynne Fox continued: “We have an experienced network of planning experts to call on. If someone wants to develop their business but may need planning permission - such as wanting to change the use of a farm building or create a new workspace – then our advisers can make them aware in advance of all their options and of any planning issues that will affect their ideas. We have funding to continue the Scheme into 2009 so businesses with new ideas and needing advice should contact us as soon as possible.”

Peter White, Executive Director of Development at the NWDA, said, “The Planning Facilitation Service is an excellent tool for rural businesses that need expert advice on what can be a complex and time-consuming process. I am pleased to see it has helped so many businesses across the region and that this hard work has been recognised through both the regional award and nomination for the national prize.”

Since the pilot in 2001/02, RPFS has acted as a mediation service for rural development with over 1000 businesses across rural Cumbria as well as more than 430 in Lancashire and over 190 in Cheshire. CREA works with partners, South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry and, in Lancashire, Rural Futures and Business Services Lancashire Ltd, to provide the mediation between rural businesses and local authorities across rural Northwest England.

“There are a lot of up front costs and risks for businesses planning new developments,” concluded Bob Clark, Executive Director of CREA, “and good professional planning advice in the early stages can save time and money. The Service has already proved a big support to growing businesses as it has helped many of them to go through the planning process more smoothly.”

Case studies

Case studies of businesses across Cumbria that have benefited from the Rural Planning Facilitation Service can be found online here

These include Wasdale Yurt Holidays (west Cumbria), Holmescales Activity Centre (near Kendal), Peter Toaig Furniture (near Penrith) and Castlerigg Camp Site (near Keswick).

For further information, please contact

Sally Seed
Stoneleigh Communications
01539 624732

Lynne Fox
Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency
01539 726624