Introduction
The Coastal Action Zone has been awarded £2m to support project applications for rural development through the LEADER (*) approach until 2013.

CAZ LEADER RDPE funding is a European Union initiative delivered through Defra.  Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council also contribute financially to the programme.

Background
In 2007, Lincolnshire County Council worked with local residents and organisations to form a partnership now known as the Coastal Action Zone (CAZ) Local Action Group (LAG) to bid for funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The LAG developed a Local Development Strategy (LDS) and is now working to implement that strategy by instigating and supporting projects that may be eligible to apply for funding through the new LEADER Approach element of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

The CAZ Vision
The CAZ Local Action Group's vision:
“Building a sustainable future through realising the natural assets of an undervalued coast”

Central theme - The creation of a quality coastal environment.

Aims-

1. To link community and landscape on the Lincolnshire coast to realise the natural assets of the area, addressing low productivity without compromising sustainable development principles.

2. Build awareness of the undeveloped, rural Lincolnshire coast and hinterland, based on the natural assets; e.g sites of value for wildlife including nature reserves and SSSIs; the coastal grazing marsh landscape and Environmental Stewardship activities

Issues to be addressed

Seasonality – The area’s economic activity is strongly controlled by the seasons, with Skegness cited as the most seasonal town in England.

Poor Economic Performance -with a declining business stock, low levels of external investment and challenges to attract skilled workers and retain young people whilst dealing with a growing elderly population – the area is recognised as one of the 44 Defra lagging districts

Achievement- Low levels of achievement characterised by deprivation with 5 of the proposed area’s 23 wards in the top 10% of deprived wards in the country

Landscape – Although distinctive and coastal it is also rural and remote, characterised by small arable farms and isolated communities; challenged by the risk of inundation and loss of livestock farming and associated grassland.  

Objective 1: Productive Coastal Landscapes -Helping farming businesses on the regional coastal strip to increase their viability through diversification which will bring new income streams – principal issues; economic underperformance and landscape.

Supporting projects that will develop;

• Local added value food production
• Rural based tourism and leisure activity
• Sustainable rural based, quality visitor accommodation
• Business activity which is complimentary to the landscape and adds value to the rural economy, community and alternative tourism offer

Objective 2:  Enhancing Coastal Competitiveness -Focusing the established resources of the regional business support offer to stimulate and support new business growth in a coastal context – principal issues; economic underperformance and seasonality.

Supporting projects that will develop;

• The recreation and creative industries sectors in the area
• Products linked to the unique landscape (e.g local foods, crafts, art)
• Rural micro enterprises seeking to utilise appropriate sources of renewable energy or conservation of energy
• Rural based products
• Business activity which is complimentary to the landscape and adds value to the rural economy, community and alternative tourism offer

Objective 3:  A Quality Coastal Destination -Working to develop distinctive coastal activities with emphasis on diversification, quality enhancement and marketing the tourism and developing the cultural offer on the coast, including the expansion of rural enterprise –principal issues; landscape and seasonality

Supporting projects that will;

• Provide a complementary offer to the traditional seaside experience
• Develop information, signposting and interpretation facilities
• Develop festivals and events
• Encourage the attraction of additional visitors interested in the natural environment of the Lincolnshire Coast
• Enhance the quality of rural visitor accommodation
• Develop the cultural offer on the coast

 

Objective 4: Cherishing Coastal Capital - A programme of landscape and building conservation, creating sustainable employment and visitor interest around our unique “natural coast” offer with a central theme of a new coastal country park –  principle issues; landscape and seasonality. 

Supporting projects that will;

• Conserve and upgrade heritage buildings and sites
• Undertake research and audit work
• Increase access to the area’s culture and heritage.
• Enhance interpretation of key nature sites

 

Objective 5: Building Coastal Capacity - A scheme of training, information and skills development to ensure that the CAZ LEADER programme is supported to embed the knowledge gained successfully for the sustainability of the area – addressing principally the issues of low levels of achievement and outward migration of young people.

 

Supporting projects that will;

• Develop the skills needed to realise the full potential of the landscape and heritage
• Provide training and information including business and technical skills for rural micro enterprises, non agricultural farm renewable energies, diversification and rural tourism
• Enhance elements of the established business support offer to fit the coastal context  

 

 For further information, please view the Local Development Strategy (LDS) as detailed in the CAZ bid document - CAZ Local Development Strategy

The LEADER Approach
The Coastal Action Zone (CAZ) Local Action Group (LAG) is a partnership formed in 2008 using the LEADER approach.  The LEADER Approach is thought to be an effective tool to assist rural communities to improve the quality of life and economic prosperity in their local area by:-

- Engaging communities in developing their own plans for the future

- Generating a bottom-up, participative approach to solving local issues

- Developing new business and social opportunities

- Improving local capacity and governance

'LEADER' is a European Union initiative for assisting rural communities to improve the quality of life and economic prosperity in their local area. It was introduced as a 'Community initiative' financed under the EU Structural Funds.  LEADER is now part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), which is delivered by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA),

In 1991 LEADER 1 provided rural communities in the EU with the resources to play an active role in shaping their own future. Information gained from evaluations and rural stakeholders indicates that the LEADER approach worked well in quite different situations and types of areas.  There have been three generations of Leader:  Leader I (1991–93), Leader II (1994–99) and Leader+(2000–06).

Through LEADER EU rural policy-making has adapted well to the extreme diversity of rural areas’ needs in Europe.  For these reasons, it has now become an integral part of European rural development policy.  For the 2007-13 programming period LEADER is no longer a separate programme but has been integrated (‘mainstreamed’) into all national/regional Rural Development Programmes.  New possibilities have been opened for the LEADER approach to be applied on a far wider scale and across a much broader range of rural development activities than before.

To understand more about the LEADER approach there is a useful European Commission document called "The LEADER approach - A Basic Guide", which is available to download by clicking the link.

*  The LEADER acronym means ‘Links between rural development actions’ (from the French - Liaisons entre actions de developpement rural).