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ABOUT LEADER+

LEADER is taken from the French, 'Liaison Entre Actions pour le Development de L'Economie Rurale' which means 'Links between actions for the development of the rural economy'.

LEADER+ is a European Union funding programme, created to promote sustainable rural development by supporting innovative, locally based development projects, often of quite small scale. The LEADER+ approach is measured through its bottom-up, community-led strategy, looking to give local people support and encouragement to create sustainable activities and resources that will improve the quality of life, and the long-term potential, of their local areas.

It aims to deliver the following:

• To help rural communities find new ways to work together to help themselves.
• To encourage job creation and increase work opportunities.
• To protect and enhance the natural or cultural heritage and diversity.
• To improve the organisational skills of rural communities.

There are four Regional Objectives to consider in the LEADER+ Strategy. These are:

1. To protect and enhance the local countryside and historic environment including the traditional landscape and cultural and architectural features
2. To develop and promote the innovative and alternative use of rural resources
3. To encourage sustainable tourism, which increases local economic activity and has environmental benefits
4. To encourage local communities to develop cultural/heritage festivals and events, particularly celebrating local distinctiveness

In the U.K., there are over 50 LEADER+ Programmes, with England engaged in 25 of them. LEADER+ also operates in the 14 Member States of the E.U. Alongside E.U. funding, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is part-financing the LEADER+ Programmes across England. For Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, there are different funding bodies allied with the E.U. (EAGGF) financing.