European Union funding for Devon

By PRSD, on Wednesday, November 12, 2008

posted by Cptn

With a pot of European gold (that’s Euros to you) up for grabs, Devon County Council is stepping in line to finance some of the county’s projects with the next round of funding, which ends in 2013.

The themes these projects fall under are: Competitiveness, Co-operation, Employment and the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), and the definition and cash allocations are as follows, from the press release:

“£80 million is available in the South West from ERDF [the European Regional Development Fund] to promote innovation, enterprise, business growth and new technologies. The objective is to improve the economic performance of the region. The majority of the funding will be allocated through a commissioning process rather than making direct bids to fund projects

“£511 million from ERDF is available to support international partnership projects for economic development, community planning and infrastructure between the South West and bordering countries. For the first time Devon can participate in cross border programmes for example with France, Belgium and the Netherlands

“£98 million from the ESF [the European Social Fund] is available to help develop employment opportunities and skills training. Funding will be targeted in particular to assist the unemployed, people with disabilities, older workers, ethnic minorities, lone parents and young people who are not in education, employment or training.

“£152 million is the allocation for RDPE [Employment and the Rural Development Programme for England] schemes to help sustainable farming, forestry and food projects, improving the environment and countryside, improving the quality of life in rural areas, diversification of the rural economy and community-led development through local action groups. Funding has already been agreed for local action groups in Greater Dartmoor (£1.8m), Torridge & North Devon (£3.8m), South Devon Coastal (£1.8m) and Blackdown Hills & East Devon (£2.4m).”

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