15 September 2008
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 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 1400 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 300 in Lancashire and over 150
in Cheshire. CREA works with partners, South Cheshire Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and what is now known as 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.”
ENDS
Full details of CREA’s programmes, advice services and
activities can be found at www.crea.co.uk.
Case studies
Case studies of businesses across Cumbria that have benefited from
the Rural Planning Facilitation Service will be found online at
www.crea.co.uk.
Notes
The mission of the Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency is to regenerate
and strengthen the rural economy by creating sustainable
employment.
It was established in 1984 with a small team based in Kendal but
it now has offices in both Kendal and Penrith. CREA has
increased its portfolio of services to include Business Advice
(Start Up, Existing Businesses), Cumbria Farm Link, Distinctly
Cumbrian, the Rural Planning Facilitation Service and Rural Small
Building Grant Scheme, the Cumbria Business Environment Network and
the Resource Efficiency Programme.
Further information on the RTPI and its awards can be found
at
www.rtpi.org.uk/events_awards_and_networking/awards
For further information, please contact
Sally Seed Stoneleigh Communications 01539
624732