East Anglia Press Releases for the Norfolk & Suffolk Broads with Press Releases and Articles from the Broads Authority in East Anglia, and the East of England UK.

The Broads Authority has won a major European award for reviving the reed and sedge cutting industry in the Broads.

The Broads Reed and Sedge Cutters Rejuvenation Project has been singled out for a medal (2nd prize) in the annual European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards.

It was one of 158 nominations from 32 countries in various categories which were assessed by independent experts. Five top prizes, 16 medals and 13 diplomas were awarded.

The awards, which were launched in 2002, recognise best practices in heritage conservation on a European level.

This is the second award the project has won. In February 2006 the Broads Authority won a Royal Town Planning Institute award for its work supporting the reed and sedge cutters.

Gillian Morgan, the Broads Authorityís Director of Planning and Development, said:

"We are delighted that this innovative project has been recognised. It is just one example of how the Broads Authority works to contribute to rural revival. It has far reaching consequences right across the board from regenerating the rural economy and enhancing quality of life to preserving the Broads landscape and wildlife habitats and maintaining the character of local buildings."

The reed cutting industry was dying out in the Broads when, in 2002, the Broads Authority commissioned consultants to address the problem.

The results showed the lack of living wage was at the core of the decline. The Authority encouraged the reed and sedge cutters, who traditionally work in isolation, to take the radical step of forming the Broads Reed and Sedge Cutters Association which has allowed them to access grants for equipment and acquire further skills to provide a wage out of the reed and sedge cutting season.

The Broads Authorityís Sustainable Development Fund provided £67,400 for the project which was matched by £57,000 from the Broads and Rivers EU LEADER + programme in 2003.

The money has been used to buy new machinery which is rented to members. The accumulated payments are then used to fund replacement machinery. The Authority has also persuaded landowners and managers to reduce or drop royalty payments for cutting reed.

The project has resulted in new reed cutters taking up the trade. The Association, which has developed its own website, is now helping to train five new young reed and sedge cutters as part of a Heritage Lottery funded bursary scheme. Reed beds are now being restored and reed is being cut commercially on some sites for the first time in many years.

The European Heritage Awards ceremony will take place on 8 June in Stockholm, Sweden. HRH the Prince Consort of Denmark, Jan Figel, a Member of the European Commission and HRH Princess Madeleine, Patron of Europa Nostra, Sweden, will take part in the event. The King and Queen of Sweden will also be present.

Reproduced by kind permission of Broads Authority.