Euro Cash Boost to the Region

Monday, 17th December 2007

Categories: General News, Finance & Funding

Euro cash boost to the region

The North East economy has moved a step closer to benefiting from a £255m cash injection, with the European Commission approving the region's programme for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) up to 2013.
Regional development agency One NorthEast is entering the final phase of arrangements for the implementation of the ERDF Competitiveness Programme on behalf of North East England.

The agency takes responsibility for this round of ERDF funding from Government Office for the North East (GO-NE), and with it the operation of a programme potentially worth over half a billion pounds over the next seven years.

Thanks to strong negotiation from regional partners in the lead up to the new ERDF and ESF programmes, the North East has secured the biggest per capita European funding allocation of all the English regions.

Proposed ERDF investment is set to focus primarily on 'Enhancing and Exploiting Innovation' and 'Business Growth and Enterprise'. These priorities are underpinned by commitments to environmental sustainability, equality of opportunity and sustainable communities.

"This new European programme is a great opportunity for the region," said One NorthEast assistant chief executive Pat Ritchie. "It's crucial that we and our regional partners ensure alignment of ERDF cash with the agreed priorities of the Regional Economic Strategy, to make maximum use of the available funding."

"European Commission approval of the operational programme is a key milestone and we're already talking to partners to flag up opportunities and plan a pipeline of projects for ERDF eligibility. An extra £36m per year to augment our domestic resources is a huge boost for economic development activity."

The next step for One NorthEast is to establish a programme monitoring committee of regional partners, chaired by Jonathan Blackie, regional director of Government Office for the North East.

He added: "Approval of the ERDF programme is very good news for the region and follows over eighteen months of hard work by the team that has overseen its development.
"I look forward to working closely with One NorthEast to ensure that the programme's targets of job creation, assisting businesses and embedding technology and innovation in the region's economy are achieved."

The ERDF programme will commence with a high profile launch event in February, and the first round of bids is expected to be held in the spring of 2008.

ERDF can only fund an individual project up to 50% of its total cost, so it is always used to 'match' fund projects with other sources of private and/or public sector investment.

European funding has been used to support the North East since 1989 and has brought many millions of pounds worth of investment to the region. Distributed by the European Commission, the funding promotes growth, competitiveness and employment in the region.

GO-NE retains its administrative role for the 2000-06 ERDF programme as it reaches its natural end.

To keep up to date with the 2007-13 ERDF programme developments in the lead up to its official launch, visit www.onenortheast.co.uk/page/erdf.cfm

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