THREE years on from the foot-and-mouth crisis and the company that was to be charged with healing the county's battered economy is finally under way.

Rural Regeneration Cumbria became operational in June to deliver the vision for a Rural Action Zone that emerged in October 2001 from the Cumbria Foot-and-Mouth Taskforce, spearheaded by Cumbria County Council.

The idea was to create a company that would be the strategic brain co-ordinating regeneration efforts, a company that would be able to draw down serious Government money to help the economy bounce back from the outbreak that hit the county on February 27, 2001 and cost Cumbria's agricultural sector an estimated £200 million and the tourism industry £400 million in 2001/2.

Two years later and RRC is the outcome with a new logo and £45 million of North West Development Agency money to spend plus £6 million from the EU at its disposal.

Rural Regeneration Cumbria's chief executive Chris Torkington - a recruit from the private sector with a high-flying career with Barclays Bank behind him is the new man at the helm.

"It's wrong to say we are here to address the problems of foot-and-mouth," argues Chris. CCC had intermediate funds for immediate recovery, such as First Aid for Cumbria. "We are here to address the long term problem of an economy that was shown up by foot-and-mouth."

The recovery approach involves delivering RAZ's eight-point Next Steps' strategy to: broaden Cumbria's economic base, develop sustainable tourism, diversify agriculture, support primary agriculture, develop rural skills, promote the countryside, sustain the environment and regenerate social and community groups.

Those laudable but broad aims have been distilled into a whole raft of programmes aimed at refreshing what the tourism industry has to offer, making the agricultural sector more efficient and a bolstering a "third sector" which involves strengthening industries we have already got - like the outdoor education sector and creative industries.

The idea is that RRC will become a one-stop shop for regeneration efforts with its experts and personnel seconded to it from other public agencies so that it can deliver joined-up advice, either offering grant support directly or finding someone else who can.

Central to the agricultural support is a £9.7 million grants and advice service called Farm Connect.

By mid-2004, grants should be up for grabs for on-farm improvements like upgrading animal housing but also for farmers to group together for things like marketing.

"We want to help farmers' transition through the Common Agricultural Policy mid term review," says Chris. "We want to help rethink their businesses in terms of that massive shift and come out the other side with a viable and vital business."

The huge programme still needs State Aid approval from the EU but RRC is confident that will be secured.

Also on the agenda is a plan to give Cumbrian farmers better processing facilities so the profits involved in turning their raw materials into ready-for-consumption products stay in the county. As reported in last week's Westmorland Gazette, RRC has joined with milk co-op First Milk to commission a £40,000 feasibility study into creating a diary reprocessing plant. Some £240,000 has also been earmarked to back a plan from a group of 60 farmers for a new meat cutting and processing plant at junction 38 of the M6.

By the end of RRC's spending spree it is hoped that 1,000 jobs will have been created and another thousand safeguarded.

In total, it is estimated that £274 million will be spent on the Cumbria Rural Action Zone in the five years up to 2008, a figure that takes into account the work of not just RRC but every funding organisation, including DEFRA, as well as private sector money. Some 5,200 jobs should be created and a further 6,270 safeguarded.

It is far too early to tell whether the Rural Action Zone will be anywhere near that successful.

But those at the helm believe their regeneration activities will deliver.

Anyone interested in getting advice or grants should contact RRC at its Hackthorpe office on 01931-711130.