Updates which have been made to the guidance published online for Rural Priorities can be viewed by clicking on Guidance Updates from the left hand menu.
All significant new updates and additions to the online guidance are also listed below.
For older news, please see the Rural Priorities News Archive.
1 February 2012
Changes have been made to a number of Rural Priorities guidance pages from today. Details are provided below. Further detail is available on the Guidance Updates page.
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The Forestry Outcome Plan has been amended to read more clearly to a forestry-specific audience.
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Grant Rates for Axis 3 Options have been updated to reflect the Information and Awareness details stated in the related Guidance updated on 16 June 2011.
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The Guidance on Grazed Grassland for Chough has been amended with clarification on the maximum stocking density of 1 LA/ha.
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The Management of Hedgerows Option has been updated to include the new vole guard capital item requirement.
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The Extended Hedges Option has been amended to reflect the addition of the new vole guard capital item and the replacement of a broken hyperlink.
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Woodland Creation - Central Scotland Mixed Woodland is now updated to introduce eligibility to allow up to 50% conifers in specific circumstances.
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The Supporting Biodiversity Package is now available under Regional Priority 9 (which relates to management which will benefit the special features on Scotland's nationally important nature sites) in all RPAC regions.
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The Vernacular Buildings Package has been amended with two updates. These cover 1: Clarification of eligible building types to exclude certain types of structure, and 2: Clarification of rules relating to the use of this option in conjunction with other Rural Priorities options.
30 December 2011
Changes to the Rural Priorities Assessment Process
Following the recent announcement about changes to the assessment (scoring) process, we have now updated the Proposal Assessment pages of the website with the new guidance, which applies to all cases submitted after 16 November 2011.
19 December 2011
A new Axis 3 Option has been implemented - Upland Habitat Management Plans will assist in maintaining and enhancing the condition of special features on upland sites designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Areas or Special Areas for Conservation (SSSIs, SPAs or SACs).
16 December 2011
An upgrade of our case document storage system is to be carried out from Wednesday 4 until Friday 6 January 2012 inclusive. Although you will be able to work on your SoI/Proposal in Front Office you will not be able to upload or view documents during this time, nor will the system produce a record of the case details report that generates when a proposal is committed. You therefore should not commit Proposals while this upgrade is taking place.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
5 December 2011
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead has formally announced the results of the September 2011 Rural Priorities funding round.
A News Release is available here.
Case Studies of successful projects are available here.
Individual case results can be accessed on the results page.
1 December 2011
Changes have been made to a number of Rural Priorities guidance pages from today. Details are provided below. Further detail is available on the Guidance Updates page.
16 November 2011
Axis 1 and 3 applications to be considered in June 2012
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead has announced that a further Rural Priorities funding round will take place in June 2012. The Regional Proposal Assessment Committees (RPACs) will consider applications for Axis 1 (restructuring, development and innovation) and 3 (rural enterprise and rural communities) projects.
Important information about the June 2012 funding round and important changes is available here.
You can access the timetable for this assessment round here.
A News Release is available here.
Full details of the options available under Axis 1 and 3 are available here.