A turkey farmer has built two holiday lodges overlooking a fishing lake thanks to funding from Defra's Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES).
Mick Binder and his wife Charlotte, who own Rumburgh Farm, Rumburgh, near Halesworth, realised they could release the potential of a fishing lake on their grounds by building holiday lodges in the peaceful Suffolk countryside.
The custom-made timber lodges, called Kingfisher and Swallows, each sleep four people and have en suite facilities. They are kitted out with fully fitted kitchens with gas cooker, microwave, fridge, washing machine and dryer. They each boast a spacious sitting room and dining area with French doors that open out onto a veranda that overlooks the lake. Fly-fishing at the trout-stocked lake is included in the cost of renting them.
Mick Binder said:
"We have run a successful bed and breakfast for nine years as a supplement to the farm, so we knew we had the skills to make the project a success - but without the funding from Defra we wouldn't have been able to build two lodges.
"As turkey farmers, Christmas is a busy time for us, but we wanted to balance the cash flow across the year. The fishing lake is a big draw for summer visitors."
Pat Williams, an adviser for Rural Development Service in the East of England said:
"Mr and Mrs Binder's project is an excellent and novel way of providing holiday accommodation in lodges on the edge of their new trout fishing lake.
"It is good to see a project with strong community links as they will be offering free fishing days to local fishermen and are developing a local history trail. They are also forging links with the local butcher, brewery and pub, generating more income in the rural community generally. We are pleased to be able to support this project and wish them every success."
To simplify funding for rural areas and better target it to the needs of rural people in each region Defra is reviewing its funding streams. The current social and economic schemes of the ERDP will not be rolled forward into the next programme, which will run from 2007 to 2013, after the current ERDP closes at the end of this year.
Friday, 30 June 2006 will be the last date on which new applications may be accepted under the Rural Enterprise Scheme, the Processing and Marketing Grant, the Vocational Training Scheme and the Energy Crops
(SRC) Producer Group Scheme.
Customers who are in the process of developing a proposal for a business or community project with a view to seeking a grant from one of these schemes are recommended to discuss their proposal with a representative from the Rural Development Service.
The 30 June deadline does not apply to Objective 1 and LEADER+ funding; neither does it apply to Environmental Stewardship (Entry Level and Higher Level schemes); nor does it relate to the Energy Crops Scheme Establishment Grants, the Hill Farm Allowance, or the English Woodland Grant Scheme.
