Next series of pre-application workshops to be held as follows:

• Monday 20^th August 2018 – Ballymena 8.00 am – 10.00 am & 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
• Tuesday 21^st August 2018 – Larne 8.00 am – 10.00 am & 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
• Wednesday 22^nd August 2018 – Carrickfergus – 8.00 am – 10.00 am & 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm

Last chance for rural businesses to bag 90K of Grants!

 This is the final call for rural businesses across Mid and East Antrim to apply for grants up to £90,000!

Please spread the word, information workshops being held across the borough this month will highlight the support available.

Rural based businesses interested in applying for funding must attend one of these mandatory workshops.

To register or to find out more, contact the Investment & Funding Office on 028 2563 3266 or email rdp@midandeastantrim.gov.uk.

• Monday 20^th August 2018 – Ballymena 8.00 am – 10.00 am & 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
• Tuesday 21^st August 2018 – Larne 8.00 am – 10.00 am & 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm
• Wednesday 22^nd August 2018 – Carrickfergus – 8.00 am – 10.00 am & 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm

Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group are holding the next set of funding workshops for the Business Investment Scheme. 

Grants of up to £30,000 are available for new businesses and £90,000 for existing small businesses.  To be eligible for funding, applicants must first attend a workshop.   The Workshops are on a drop-in basis and will cover everything you need to know regarding eligibility and the application process.

Please note that these workshops are strictly for businesses with fewer than 50 full time equivalent employees and the individual(s) attending the workshop MUST be either the business owner, one of the partners if operating as a business partnership; or one of the directors if operating as a legal entity registered with Companies House.

To reserve you place you must register by contacting the Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group office on 028 2563 3266.  Venues will be confirmed upon reservation.

Staff from the Mid & East Antrim Rural Development Programme will be in attendance at this event to discuss the Grants we have available

The event which is being held on Monday 3rd July, 9.30am – 6.30pm at Ballymena Livestock Mart will see a a number of successful attractions return including an open fleece competition, supported by BWMB, the popular sale of working sheepdogs and puppies and the Next Generation Shepherd of the Year competition, which is certainly an element not to be missed by shepherds aged 26 and under.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see and compare a wide range, suitable for both hill and lowland production, while an excellent entry of trade stands will bring together examples of just about everything the sheep farmer could need.

For more information on the event refer to the official website http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/events/nsa-sheep-northern-ireland/  or contact Event Organiser, Edward Adamson on 07711071290 or edward.adamson1@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you there.

Mid & East Antrim Local Action Group are holding the first set of funding workshops for the Basic Services Scheme

Grants are available from £500 up to £150,000 to fund projects that improve the welfare and access to basic services of those living in a rural areas under the Basic Services Scheme.  The project must be in line with the Council Community Plan and Mid and East Antrim Council must be consulted prior to application submission.

To be eligible to apply for funding, an officer of the organisation with delegated authority must first attend a workshop.  The workshops will last approximately 1.5 hours and will cover everything you need to know regarding eligibility and the application process.

The funding workshops are taking place on

• Tuesday 11^th April in Larne, 6.30 – 8.30pm
• Thursday 13^th April in Ballymena, 6.30 – 8.30pm  

To reserve a place you must register by contacting the Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group office on 028 2563 3266.  Venues will be confirmed upon reservation.

Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group are holding the next set of funding workshops for the Business Investment Scheme. 

Grants of up to £30,000 are available for new businesses and £50,000 for existing businesses.  To be eligible for funding, applicants must first attend a workshop.  The workshops will last approximately 1.5 hours and will cover everything you need to know regarding eligibility and the application process.

Please note that these workshops are strictly for businesses with fewer than 50 full time equivalent employees and at the individual(s) attending the workshop MUST be either the business owner, one of the partners if operating as a business partnership; or one of the directors if operating as a legal entity registered with Companies House.

To reserve you place you must register by contacting the Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group office on 028 2563 3266.  Venues will be confirmed upon reservation.

Calling all rural community organisations, social enterprise groups or similar.

A Basic Services & Village Renewal information evening is taking place on 22^nd February, 6.30pm – 9pm.  This will take place at LEDCOM, Willowbank Business Park, Larne. 

This could be your opportunity to apply for grant aid!  The event will provide you with information on project eligibility, and the steps to be taken to further your project.

Contact the Mid & East Antrim Office on rdp@midandeastantrim.gov.uk or 028 25633266 to register.

A best practice visit highlighting the potential to further develop the International Appalachian Trail within the Mid & East Antrim area took place on Thursday 26^th January in Carnlough. 

The Ulster ~ Ireland chapter of the trail was established in 2011.  The trail runs from west Donegal in the Republic of Ireland to Larne, Co. Antrim.

The best practice trip was organised by Mid & East Antrim LAG staff members and involved a guided tour of Cranny Falls, a stunning waterfall that is accessible by a nature walk from Carnlough village.

The trip included 16 participants in total from 5 Local Action Groups including Donegal County Council, Derry & Strabane, Fermanagh & Omagh and Causeway Coast & Glens.   This is the third best practice trip with two already taking place in the West Highland Way in Scotland & in Gortin, Co. Tyrone.  The remaining visits will take place throughout the year.

The next step includes a feasibility study being carried out within each Local Action Group to determine what improvements could be made to the trail in each area.

Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group are holding the next set of funding workshops for the Business Investment Scheme. 

Grants of up to £30,000 are available for new businesses and £50,000 for existing businesses.  The workshops will last approximately 1.5 hours and will cover everything you need to know regarding eligibility and the application process.

Please note that these workshops are strictly for businesses with fewer than 50 full time equivalent employees and annual turnover of €10million or less. 

To reserve you place you must register by contacting the Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group office on

028 2563 3368 or 028 2563 3266.  Venues will be confirmed upon reservation.

Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group invites you to an information evening for our Rural Broadband Scheme.

Purpose of the Event

The aim of this event is to give an overview of the rural broadband scheme and how to apply.  Please note funding will be limited to small broadband infrastructure projects led by business clusters which involve innovative community led solutions

Contact details and RSVP

The event will be held on the 24th August from 6pm to 8pm in Carrickfergus.  Venue to be confirmed upon place reservation.

Registration is essential.  To find out further information on the broadband scheme and to reserve a place at the information evening please call the Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group office on 028 2563 3266. 

Over 50 participants attended a successful workshop on 29^th June at Willowbank Business Park in Larne which was organised by the Mid & East Antrim Local Action Group.

The purpose of the event was to outline proposals for the Village Renewal/Basic Services measures, to build partnerships between community organisations and the Council and to give communities the opportunity to submit proposals and priorities to the LAG and Council.

The Village Renewal Scheme has an overall budget of £740,000.  In a change to previous Programmes, Council must be the applicant and the match funder.  It is intended that villages will work in partnership with Council to generate ideas and to implement projects.  Only one application per village will be accepted and it is anticipated that there will be a maximum of 2 calls (1 call for drafting village plans and the other for full project applications).  The call for village plans is due to open in September.

The Basic Services Scheme also has a budget of £740,000.  The Scheme is open to a range of applicants and not just to Council.  Council must provide at least 5% of the financial contribution and the applicant/community group must also provide at least 5% cash toward the project.  Basic Services has a strong emphasis on innovative capital funding.  It is anticipated that there will only be one call which will take place in November.  All applicants must attend a mandatory Rural Development Workshop on the 14^th September before they are eligible to submit an application.  

For further information on these 2 measures or to register for the Basic Services workshop, please contact one of the team at the Investment & Funding unit on 028 2563 3266 or by email rdp@midandeastantrim.gov.uk

Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group invites you to an information evening for our Village Renewal and Basic Services Schemes.

Purpose of the event

In a change to previous Rural Development Programmes, applications to our Village Renewal Scheme must be made by Council.  With this in mind, the aim of this event is to develop partnerships between Council, Community and Village Groups, and Statutory Agencies.  We will also establish the process for submitting applications for funding. 

Our Basic Services Scheme has some elements in common with Village Renewal so we will also cover this Scheme at the same event.

Contact details and RSVP

The event will be held at 6pm on the 29^th June in the Henderson Suite at Willowbank Business Park, Willowbank Road, Larne, BT40 2SF.  Light refreshments will be provided. 

Registration is essential.  Please confirm your attendance with Margaret Graham on either 028 2563 3266 or via margaret.graham@midandeastantrim.gov.uk. 

Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group is holding a series of compulsory funding workshops for the Rural Business Investment Scheme.

These workshops are strictly for businesses with fewer than ten full time equivalent employees and which have a turnover of less than €2 million. Further dates for larger businesses will be announced later in the year. 

Applicants should note that it is mandatory to attend one of these preparatory workshops prior to submitting an application for funding. In a change to previous Programmes, the call for applications will only be opened to workshop attendees.

The workshops are scheduled as per the table below. Numbers on each workshop are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Call the Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group office on 028 2563 3368 or 028 2563 3266 to reserve a place.

The NI Rural Development Programme (2014-2020) is open to people who live in, or organisations which operate in, either the countryside or in settlements with a population of less than 5,000.

£3.3 million of the Programme funding will be used to encourage the economic development of rural Mid and East Antrim and will be delivered across a range of Measures, including Rural Business Investment, Village Renewal, Basic Services, Rural Broadband and Cooperation. It is anticipated that the first call for applications will take place in early 2016, when the Business Measure is set to open for Micro Enterprises applicants.

The Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group held a series of Share Article information events from the 24th to the 26th November to publicise the new tranche of Rural Development Funding.

Some £3.3 million of funding is available under the Programme which will run until 2020. Almost 100 people attended the 6 events in Carnlough, Portglenone and Carrickfergus and were given information on the Programme and how to apply. The Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough, Councillor Billy Ashe was delighted that so many people attended. He said “The Rural Development Programme is a fantastic opportunity for local people to access project financing. The funding will be used to enhance rural areas within Mid and East Antrim by creating jobs, improving infrastructure and by developing services in local communities. I hope that many of the people who attended the information sessions were encouraged to submit an application”. It is anticipated that the first call for applications will be targeted at micro businesses which employ fewer than 10 employees. Additional calls will be made throughout 2016 for larger businesses, village renewal projects, basic service and broadband projects. Mr Roy Beggs MBE, Chairman of the Mid and East Antrim Local Action Group, has one key piece of advice for potential applicants – “I would like to emphasise that you must attend a pre-application workshop in January/February before you can submit an application. The workshop dates will be advertised in the press or alternatively, if you contact the office on 028 2563 3266, we will add you to our database and keep you abreast of developments”.

Notes to editors:

• For Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Media enquiries, please contact: Brian McCalden, Communications & Engagement Co-ordinator, Tel: 028 2563 5041.