At the most recent meeting of the market town council (MGR) Remlingen, Sebastian Grimm from the district development and regional management of the district office of Würzburg presented the EU funding program “Leader”. For decades, this has been geared towards cooperation and cohesion between regions in the European Union. Central elements are networking, sustainability, value creation and citizen participation.
Since 1991, the program of measures has been used to promote exemplary, innovative campaigns in rural areas. The basic funding criterion is always that the measure benefits the region. Projects are not only supported by communities and associations, but also by private individuals. So-called local action groups (LAG) are important pillars of the Leader concept.
Which local action group Remlingen could join
There are three local action groups in the district of Würzburg. The “LAG Energie und Kabel” has existed since 2002 with nine municipalities and 31,000 inhabitants. In 2014, 28 communities in the districts of Würzburg and Main-Spessart with around 111,000 inhabitants came together to form the “LAG Wein, Wald, Wasser” and in April 2022 the association “LAG Süd-West-Dreieck” was founded to receive applications for the Leader funding program 2023 to 2027. According to Grimm, the Remlingen market could now also participate in this.
But time is of the essence, as the registration deadline is July 15th. Sebastian Grimm described a possible participation in the LAG as “a good thing and an opportunity for projects that benefit the region and all citizens” – and gave some examples of eligible projects from other action groups.
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Funding is only possible if the municipality is a LAG member
For example, the interior of the Wöllried estate near Würzburg was funded with around 150,000 euros. And a mobile fruit press in the western district was realized with a grant of 65,000 euros. The promotion of a dry stone wall in Güntersleben (district of Würzburg) with 120,000 euros was certainly not uninteresting for many clubs. However, support from associations, traders or private individuals is only possible if the municipality is a member of the LAG.
The member communities can then apply with their projects. According to Grimm, a budget of 1.1 million euros for individual projects is planned for each LAG as a guideline. A further 400,000 euros are available for cooperation projects and 250,000 euros for management personnel cost support over a period of five years. The amount of funding is expected to be staggered and will range between 40 and 60 percent of the total costs.
With an annual fee of around 1200 euros, the financial outlay for the Remlingen market is manageable. However, the MRG did not yet want to make a decision on whether to become a member of the LAG and asked for a period of time before the July meeting.
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