Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency is encouraging rural businesses with plans for expansion to make the most of an advice service now so that they are well placed to go for any funding that becomes available in the coming months.
“Our Rural Planning Facilitation Service (RPFS) has operated successfully since 2002 and has helped more than 1100 Cumbrian businesses,” said Lynne Fox, Business Support and Planning Manager at CREA.
“The aim is to offer advice before a planning application goes in for a development. Our network of planning experts can often highlight the potential pitfalls as well as the strengths of an idea. They ensure that anyone with a proposal to develop their business that may need planning permission - such as wanting to change the use of a farm building or create a new work space - is aware in advance of all their options and of any planning issues that will affect their ideas.”
She continued: “We have funding to continue to offer this free service into 2009 and I am very aware that current changes in small business support and grants make it all the more important that rural businesses are ready to go as soon as money through the Rural Development Fund England (RDPE) starts coming into the county.”
The Northwest Regional Development Agency recently announced over £6 million of funding coming into rural development across Cumbria under RDPE but only a proportion of this will go as direct grant funding and it is expected that investment in business growth and buildings will be limited.
“If businesses have anticipated potential issues and have already addressed planning concerns, they will be in the best position to apply for funding early in the process, giving themselves the best chance of success,” said Lynne.
The Cumbria Rural Planning Facilitation Service (RPFS) has been shortlisted for an RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) Award for 2008 in recognition of its work with businesses and planning advisers across rural Cumbria.
“The RTPI Award would be a great encouragement for our team of advisers,” said Bob Clark, Chief Executive of CREA, “and the stamp of approval for a practical approach that has helped many Cumbrian businesses to develop successfully over the past six years.”
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