More than £54 million will be shared by a range of projects aimed at improving the quality of life in rural areas of Wales, Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones has announced.
The money is being made available through the Rural Development Plan (RDP) for Wales 2007-13, a joint Welsh Assembly Government and European Union strategy with a total budget of £795million.
As well as covering agriculture, forestry, the environment and countryside, the RDP funds schemes aimed at improving the quality of life in rural areas, and locally based approaches to rural development.
Elin Jones said:
“The Rural Development Plan is a very important mechanism for developing rural communities. Between 2007 and 2013 it will bring an impressive £795m of funding to rural Wales.
“The £54m I am announcing today is for a wide range of rural community projects, all of which aim to improve the quality of life in rural areas.
“Importantly, the project ideas come from Local Action Groups which input from local people, who are best placed to decide what their communities need in order to improve the environment, economy, or local tourism.
“Many of the projects being approved today will help to support rural economies as Wales continues to feel the effects of the worldwide recession and the UK government spending review, which has left Wales facing severe cuts.”
Among the 77 projects receiving funding are a healthy village scheme in rural wards of Caerphilly, a green tourism project in Denbighshire, and a project in Anglesey which will train 14-25 year olds in enterprise and entrepreneurship.
