| |
Farm Business Development
Scheme |
|
The Farm Business Development Scheme (FBDS) is an innovative business
development scheme for farmers and their immediate family members. The
Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department
(SEERAD) fund the scheme.
The FBDS can provide grant assistance towards the development of new
diversification enterprises or expansion of existing diversification
enterprises, based either on or off farm.
Projects must have the potential to increase and broaden overall
income for applicants. They should result in self-sustaining economic
activities, strengthening the income generating capacity of the farming family.
The FBDS is a competitive and cash limited scheme.
Eligibility
You can apply to the scheme if you have an eligible agricultural
business. The proposed project must be located in the FBDS area.
Immediate family members, resident on or adjacent to the agricultural
unit, are also eligible to apply.
You must have actively engaged in agriculture for a minimum period of
two years as either owner-occupier or tenant.
The scheme is open to full-time or part-time farmers running an
eligible agricultural business.
Applications
Applications are considered by Project Assessment Committees (PACS)
chaired by SEERAD. The PACS area expected to convene three or four times per
year to assess applications.
Approved projects will be monitored for five years (seven in the case
of residential letting projects) after the final payment of grant.
Financial Assistance
The maximum grant assistance is £25,000 per eligible business,
except for collaborative projects, in which case the maximum level of
assistance per eligible business is £30,000.
Collaborative projects consist of a minimum of three eligible persons,
each linked to a separate eligible agricultural business.
Applicants may submit more than one application. If approved, project
awards will be aggregated and restricted to the maximum available. If approved,
project awards will be aggregated and restricted to the maximum available to
the eligible agricultural business.
The level of grant awarded to non-agricultural diversification
projects is up to 50%. Diversification within agriculture is restricted to a
maximum grant rate of up to 50% for projects within Less Favoured Areas (LFAs)
and up to 40% for projects in non-LFAs.
In addition to the capital grants, approved training for successful
projects may be grant aided at a rate of up to 50% of agreed training costs.
Such grant is outwith the capital grant ceiling.
Eligible Projects
The FBDS may provide assistance towards the cost of a wide range of
diversification projects. The list below is non prescriptive:
- Alternative Agricultural Production
- Leisure, Recreation and Sporting Facilities
- Retailing of Processed Agricultural Products
- Processing of Forest Products
- Residential Letting
- Rural Services
- Tourist Accommodation
- Tourist Facilities
1. Alternative Agricultural Production
(Agricultural Diversification)
Assistance may be given for:
- The development or improvement of facilities required for the
production of alternative crops, for example: soft fruit, vegetables, mushrooms
or horticultural stock.
- Assistance may also be available for the establishment or
improvement of alternative stock breeding and rearing enterprises, for example:
deer, fibre goats, rabbits, snails.
- New and innovative uses of land
2. Leisure, Recreation and
Sporting Facilities
Assistance may be given for:
- The establishment or improvement of a wide range of sports and
recreational pursuits, both indoor and outdoor, for example: football,
water-sports, tennis, golf, pony-trekking, mountain-bikes, martial arts, table
tennis, snooker, pitch and putt.
- The establishment or improvement of recreational facilities, for
example: walks, nature trails, picnic areas, farm museums, ponds for angling.
3. Retailing of Processed
Agricultural Products
Assistance may be given for:
- The development or improvement of enterprises geared to the sale of
food products, for example: pies, cheese, yoghurt, bread, jam, the freezing of
fruit, butchery, bakery etc for sale at retail outlets and farm shops.
- The development or improvement of enterprises geared to manufacture
and sale of non-food products, for example: wool, hides and skin.
4. Processing of Forest Products
Assistance may be given for:
- The development or improvement of enterprises geared to processing
and manufacture of timber products, for example: fencing materials, wooden
flooring and garden fencing.
- The drying and preparation of timber for woodturning and other
craft activities.
5. Residential Letting
Assistance may be given for:
- The conversion of redundant buildings into housing for rent.
Developments should have a recognised demand and be consistent with local
housing strategies.
Note: Housing for rent does not
include rent to a member of the immediate family of the eligible applicant
submitting the business proposal.
6. Rural Services
Assistance may be given for:
- The establishment or improvement of a wide range of small
businesses to serve the local community such as: the construction trade,
machinery repairs, fencing, hairdressing, catering, knitwear, secretarial
services, IT services and specialist contracting work.
Note: The examples above are not
prescriptive. If your proposal is not listed above, you should contact your
local Project Officer to determine the eligibility of your project.
7. Tourist Accommodation
Assistance may be given for:
- The development of new or improvement of existing tourism
accommodation, including most types of permanent accommodation and caravan
sites, including access roads, site shops and recreational facilities, for
tourists or visitors.
Note: Applicants will be required to
demonstrate local market need for the accommodation facility and ensure the
development is consistent with local tourist strategies. Applicants will also
be required to provide a marketing plan. The accommodation should comply with
specific Scottish Tourist Board (visitscotland) quality assurance standards.
8. Tourist Facilities
Assistance may be given for:
- The development of or improvement of Adventure Playgrounds,
Heritage Trails, Farm Museums, Craft Enterprises and Visitor Centres and other
tourist facilities.
Note: New eligible measures may be
introduced over the duration the Scheme. Equally, some measures eligible at the
beginning of the Scheme period may become ineligible. You should always check
the latest position with the Project Officer.
Call 01698 456329 to speak to the SEERAD Project Officer (Marion
Currie) for this area and to obtain an 
explanatory booklet and
application form
| |
Agricultural Processing and
Marketing Grants Scheme |
|
The Processing and Marketing Scheme will be available to all agri-food
processors from on-farm operations through to large brand leaders.
It offers capital and non-capital assistance to allow producers and
processors to increase quality, revenue and market share at home and abroad as
well as encouraging the development of new and innovative products. Grants
under the scheme will vary, providing up to a maximum 40 per cent of eligible
project costs.
Call 01698 456329 to speak to the SEERAD Project Officer (Marion
Currie) for this area.
Information is also available from SEERAD, Pentland House, 14 Robb's
Loan, EDINBURGH EH14 1TY Tel: 0131 244 6372 (FBDS) 0131-244 6388 (Agricultural
Processing and Marketing Grants Scheme)
| |
Farm Diversification and Planning
Permission |
|
A Guide to Farm Diversification and Planning Permission in
Scotland
In some cases planning permission will be required for a farm
diversification project. This site explains the process you should go through
if you want to diversify your farm business, and highlights some examples of
successful projects. It is also available as a booklet from the SEERAD Project
Officer.
Alternatively, for development advice, please contact your local South
Lanarkshire Council Planning & Building Control office:
- Clydesdale Tel. 01555 673 187/ 125
- East Kilbride Tel. 01355 806 314/ 315
- Hamilton Tel. 01698 452 822/ 453
- Rutherglen & Cambuslang Tel. 0141 613 5140/ 5141
Site
Map