Planed (formerly SPARC) has been selected by the National Assembly as one of only seven groups in the whole of Wales to take forward the EU community programme LEADER+. This is excellent news for Pembrokeshire because it means that communities throughout the whole county are now able to benefit from additional support and resources.
PLANED is building on the decade of experience of SPARC in working as a partnership organisation, bringing together communities and special interest groups with key specialist, advisory, funding and statutory partners. It will complement and not duplicate the work of other organisations, by making support easily accessible and integrated at local level.
Sue Leonard has recently been appointed to take forward the LEADER+ programme - Creating a Culture of Entrepreneurship - and is in the process of setting up a series of meetings around the county to explain LEADER+ in more detail, answer questions and plan for the future.
"Our aim is to set up 15 Area Community Enterprise Groups to look closely at local area needs, opportunities and resources - social, cultural, environmental and economic - and draw up Community Entrepreneurship Action Plans. PLANED will provide direct support and funding to prepare and implement these plans.
"We are interested in looking at developing enterprise opportunities in the broadest sense. You could, for example, take a community-based carnival and turn it into a festival, attracting visitors and people from other parts of the county, and bringing much more money into the local area. Or there may be distinctive heritage that can be used to 'theme' an area for added value tourism. There are all kinds of innovative ways of adding value to local area economies, and PLANED is here to help local people play a full part in the sustainable and long-term development of their communities."
The area group meetings are open to all community groups and residents. If you would like to attend the meeting in your area, please ring 01834 860965 for more information.