Case Studies

Great Yorkshire Show Forestry Arena - delivered by RDI

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show, have contracted Rural Development Initiatives (through Yorwoods, the Yorkshire woodland initiative hosted by RDI) to manage the forestry arena at the Great Yorkshire Show since 2005. The Great Yorkshire Show is one of the UK’s premier agricultural shows, with an annual attendance of over 130,000 and a reputation for high quality exhibits, competitions and displays.

North East Regional Forest Strategy

RDI have been commissioned by the Forestry Commission to manage the process of monitoring and coordinating the production of the North East Regional Forestry Strategy from 2006 onwards.  As well as playing a key role in delivering projects on the ground, the Forestry Commission recognised RDI’s abilities to coordinate the complex process of data collection, partner engagement and the preparation and publication of the annual Implementation Plan.

BioeNErgy Delivers Real Benefit to Rural Businesses

Park End Farms, based in Northumberland, secured funding in round two of the bioeNErgy programme to further develop and strengthen their woodchip operations.  Their farm business diversified two years ago by purchasing a chipper to supply their own woodfuel requirements and to meet the needs of other chip suppliers across the region by offering a contract chipping service. 

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Northwoods Working with Newcastle University

Northwoods was approached early in 2008 about hosting a three-month MSc student placement, following on from our previous successful placements. Those three months have now come to an end, and our placement, Katie, is about to graduate from Newcastle with her Masters degree in Clean Technology.

Katie has been working on the waste stream as a current and potential fuel source for the biomass sector. We look forward to promoting her dissertation, and hope that it will be of great interest to the biomass sector across the UK.

WHPMG Pilot

The Woodland Harvesting, Processing and Marketing Grant (WHPMG) scheme was introduced by the Forestry Commission under the England Rural Development Programme in 2005. Two rounds of applications were invited, with total funding available of £600,000. It was decided that the scheme should be introduced on a pilot basis, with one pilot in the South East Region and the other taking in contiguous areas of the North East and Yorkshire & The Humber Regions.

Consultancy for the East of England

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Red Meat Export

RDI acted as Project Manager and banker to the Red Meat Industry Forum's Red Meat Export project.

The Red Meat Industry Task Group was set up in 2005 as part of the North East Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy.   The group is responsible for driving forward an agreed action plan designed to add or retain value for the livestock sector within the region, research export opportunities, stimulate integration of the red meat supply chain and improve efficiencies within livestock production and the supply chain.

Northumberland Fire Group

Northumberland Fire Group is a coming together of the public and private sectors to tackle the increasing threat of large wildfires in rural parts of Northumberland. Members of the group include landowners, land agents, public sector bodies, farmers and in fact anyone with an interest in wildfire. At the request of Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, RDI put together a plan for the creation of the Fire Group and then set about the long and complicated task of assembling the funding package to make the project work.

Deer Management in Northumberland

During the summer of 2007 Adam Bedford, an MSc student at Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy, undertook at research project on Deer Management in Northumberland.  Adam undertook the research through a placement jointly funded by Northwoods and Northumberland National Park as part of his MSc in Rural Development and Resource Management.

RDI Research Leading the Way

As part of the support offered to the forestry and biomass sectors, RDI undertook a study of the contribution of biomass to the economy of north east England.

The research, carried out by RDI as part of the region’s NEWHeat project and backed by One North East and the Forestry Commission, also suggests that ultimately, in terms of economic value, biomass could become the most important solid fuel for heating.