Background to Rural Development in Northern Ireland
The Rural Development Programme began in Northern Ireland in 1991. The Rural Action Project had established the need for specific action here between 1985 and 1989, while the key European Community report The Future of Rural Society was published in 1988. An interdepartmental committee on rural development was set up in 1990 on the initiative of the Secretary of State.
There has been considerable change in rural development policy and practice since, and direct rule has given way to devolution. The basic foundations of the Rural Development Programme, however, have remained constant.
Those basic foundations are that:
- The approach to rural development in Northern Ireland should be “bottom-up” so that the rural community is directly involved;
- There should be an integrated approach treating rural development as a process rather than a series of individual projects and programmes;
- Rural development should be addressed in partnership, involving central government, local authorities, rural communities, voluntary bodies and the private sector;
- There should be a focus on disadvantaged rural areas;
- There should be specific funding set aside to support rural development strategies and projects.