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DR has recently been appointed to work with the Okehampton Business Improvement District Association (OBIDA) in developing a BID proposal for the town.

DR were delighted to be appointed ahead of two strong competitors, with OBIDA giving us positive feedback on a clear and competitive pricing structure and a comprehensive and clear response to the tender. As with other BIDs we have worked on, DR were able to take an approach which was tailored specifically to Okehampton. OBIDA were also encouraged by the very good feedback from Tavistock, where DR has successfully worked on a BID.

Tim Beavon, who will lead this work, said “The brief from OBIDA is to undertake comprehensive consultation with the business community and our approach will see them actively engaged in developing a proposal which meets their needs.   The starting point is to consult across the whole of the town – ensuring that the differing issues facing town centre businesses and those on the employment estates are both addressed, a particular challenge of this BID.”

Work on the BID will start in earnest in March, culminating in a ballot on the proposal early in 2013.

DR is keen to use its expertise to help other towns thinking about setting up a BID.  Tim has been asked to speak to a network of towns from Hampshire on 2 March and we hope to that this will lead to some new partnerships in the future.

For further information contact Tim Beavon on 01837 658643 or at tim@DRcompany.co.uk

DR has begun its work in Exmouth to set up the arrangements for developing a Community Plan.  A strong Community Plan can lead to the development or reprioritisation of services to meet the community’s needs.

Exmouth Town Council is encouraging the community to develop an action plan setting out key issues which local people consider are affecting them.  This will be backed up by evidence gathered by the community.  A Community Plan will influence the plans of organisations providing services in the community and will also provide a sound basis and justification for a range of funding bids.

DR is tasked with setting up a steering group to take the process forward and in providing a structure for the community plan.  DR’s Tim Beavon explains:  “We are keen to get people from all walks of life and all ages involved. There is already a lively community sector in Exmouth involving many people – our job is to make sure that their voices are heard and that the full range of issues affecting Exmouth are explored and included in the plan.”

Empowering communities to have a meaningful say about what happens in their area is encouraged by the Localism Act.  Developing a Community Plan lays a strong foundation for a number of other actions, including developing a Neighbourhood Plan, which focuses on land use planning for a particular area.

If you would like further information on how DR can help your community contact Tim Beavon on 01837 658643 or at tim@DRcompany.co.uk

If you are an RSN subscription member, you are entitled to benefit from 2 free hours of expert advice or support for your community and economic projects.

Does your project need help putting together a plan?  Or perhaps you need to obtain advice on suitable funding opportunities or require environmental advice for your project.  Others may need suitable evidence for a project or could benefit from some expert assistance in other areas.  All of this comes as part of the new free advice service for RSN members.

The service is being managed by The DR Company and is being delivered through a national network of experienced consultants.

RSN subscription members can also benefit by following up the initial support with 2 or more days of further advice with the same expert at preferential rates.

If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please get in touch and we will match your requirements to a suitable advisor in your area.

Contact Fiona Edwards, DR Company

Email fiona@DRcompany.co.uk  Tel 01837 658643

* Initial 2 hours of advice/support is free for the SPARSE Rural, The Rural Services Partnership and the Significant-Rural Associate Group. The Rural Services Community members benefit from a subsidised rate.

The service excludes professional services such as legal advice.

Are you a farmer, forester, farming contractor, woodland owner or horticultural business?

If so, there is a new grant available to help meet one or more of the following objectives:

• Improving animal health and welfare
• Reducing energy usage
• Improving the management of manures / farm nutrients
• Improving soil quality
• Improving water resource management
• Improving the use of forestry resources

Funding is available for slurry separators, slurry application equipment, GPS equipment, heat recovery systems, electricity efficiency devices, rainwater harvesting systems including storage ponds, roofing of silage clamps and slurry stores, horticultural water recycling, sheep weigh crates, EID readers, cattle foot trimming facilities, computer software for monitoring animal health, grooving of concrete floors, rubber matting, slatted floors for indoor lambing, interventions for poultry and pig welfare, forestry grabs, trailers, chippers, saw benches, firewood processors and many other items.

Fiona Edwards, Senior Project Officer at the DR Company, has already visited several farms and found a great deal of interest in resource efficiency, especially where this helps to cut costs, improves farming practice and helps the environment into the bargain! 

The visit and advice is free so why not make the most of it whilst it is available?

If you are, or know anyone else who may be interested in applying please contact Fiona on 01837 658643 or email Fiona@DRCompany.co.uk

Greater Dartmoor LEAF continues to be the leading Local Action Group nationally in terms of performance, closely followed by South Devon Coastal LAG.  Both programmes are managed by the DR Company and their success is measured by the successful allocation of funding to worthwhile projects delivering important results in the local area, such as creating jobs, making community facilities more sustainable and increasing tourism income.

So far we have supported 79 projects in the Greater Dartmoor LEAF area and 89 projects in the South Coastal area.  The full range of projects can be seen on our website: www.DRcompany.co.uk

In the South Devon Coastal area we are currently reviewing our original Local Development strategy in detail to see which areas have been particularly successful and which areas may need further work.  We plan to submit a proposal to the Coastal Communities Fund for funding to develop and extend the work that has been delivered to date.

Update March 2012

Following the presentations, a lively debating session was held with questions from members.

The subject for debate was: ‘Are we making the most of our resources?’ and the panel members were:-

Chairman: Derek Phillips

Professor Michael Winter OBE (Exeter University Centre for Rural Policy Research)

Michael Smith (The Venus Company, Food & Drink Devon)

Anthony Gibson OBE (National Farmers Union Media Strategist)

Mary Talbot-Rosevear (Small Farms Association)

Jonathan Johns (Director, Climate Change Matters)

Andrew Butler (National Farmers Union Senior Food & Farming Advisor)

Various topics were raised as part of the session and these covered local food, the Common Agricultural Policy Reform 2014 and renewable energy.

To view some short films of coverage of the key points discussed, please go to www.ruraldevon.org/video-dr-key-event-2011/

Since starting out as Devon Renaissance in 2005, our private sector not-for-profit company has grown in both reputation and experience.  Our original aim was to deliver Rural Renaissance funding successfully across rural Devon but the company has since developed other services such as project management, business support, environmental services, monitoring and evaluation and research and survey work.

As the company has grown, so has the area we cover. We now work across the South West from the Forest of Dean to the Isles of Scilly and we feel that the time is right to change our name and brand to reflect our broader reach.

We launched ‘The DR Company’ and our new logo at our Key Event and hope that it will bring new opportunities to work with more partners in the future.

We are still the same organisation and will continue to deliver services to partners old and new with the same levels of expertise, energy and professionalism that we are already known for, and we will continue to build on the legacy of Devon Renaissance.

Phillip Smart, General Manager at Killerton Estate explained the work of the National Trust and how, since 2009, they have aspired through ‘Appetite for Change’ to make the food produced and served more enjoyable, sustainable and with better connection to the places and properties entrusted to the care of the Trust.

In the village of Broadclyst, at the heart of the Killerton Estate, in East Devon, the National Trust has facilitated a new Community Supported Agriculture project (CSA), whereby a partnership develops between farmers and the local community, providing mutual benefits and reconnecting people to the land where their food is grown.

This scheme has involved a farm of around 35 acres which came back to the National Trust and has just completed its first full year of operation with excellent support coming from the local community along with a bountiful supply of vegetables and produce.

As well as the community farm, Phillip explained that the Trust has also provided some additional land for allotments with over 50 new allotments being taken up within the first two weeks.

The Killerton Estate now produces its own cider, apple chutney, honey, apple juice, lumpwood charcoal, and firewood as well as Clyston Mill flour which is grown, milled and baked on Estate land.

Dunster Castle in Somerset was the Trust’s first renewable energy project on a Grade I listed building, and runner-up in the Micropower Awards in 2008. The 24 photovoltaic panels are part of a plan to turn Dunster into the most energy efficient castle in Britain by generating 5,500 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, thereby saving almost 3,000 kilos of CO2 every year and generating up to 20% of the electricity needed at the castle.

Castle Drogo on Dartmoor had a 400kw biomass boiler installed in 2009, replacing an oil-fired heating system saving around £40,000 a year in fuel.  In 2009 it was awarded best renewable energy scheme in the South West by Green Energy Awards, and projections indicate that it will start to pay back after just 10 years.

Now feeling that the National Trust is moving in the right direction, Phillip summed up by saying “although we are not yet maximising the benefits that we could achieve to our own businesses and the communities we serve and support, our direction of travel is clear and we have grounds for optimism and indeed celebration.”

Pictures below of PVs on Dunster.