Seeda Secures £15 Million Boost for the South East Economy from Europe
18 December 2007
South East is the first English region to secure funding to reduce our ecological footprint
The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) has secured £15 million from Europe to be used across the whole of the South East to promote competitiveness while contributing to the reduction of the region’s ecological footprint.
As a result of SEEDA’s efficiency, the funding, which comes from the European Commission via its European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Programme, is the first to be awarded to a Regional Development Agency (RDA) nationally.
SEEDA will be match-funding the European contribution, making the programme worth a total of more than £30 million between 2007 and 2013.
Beneficiaries of the funding will include local authorities and organisations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, who are being encouraged to apply via expressions of interest for a share of the money. SEEDA is hoping to begin approving projects from applicants which will stimulate innovation for a sustainable economy, promote resource-efficient business practices and encourage sustainable consumption practices in March 2008.
SEEDA’s Executive Director for Smart Growth, John Parsonage says: “This is an excellent achievement for the region. The ERDF programme approved by the European Commission offers a great opportunity to use European funding to boost the delivery of the Regional Economic Strategy (RES). SEEDA will be working with its regional partners to make best use of this resource.”
Director José Palma Andrés from the Directorate General for Regional Policy at the European Commission says: “This is the first English programme to be adopted and it is quite an achievement. It is the result of the excellent co-operation developed in the past few months between the Commission and SEEDA and we look forward to continuing this throughout the implementation of the programme. The programme is innovative in pursuing the objectives of the Lisbon Agenda for growth and jobs by promoting sustainable production and consumption."
The responsibility of the management of the regional ERDF programmes has recently been devolved to RDAs from the Regional Government Offices. SEEDA has embraced this move and worked hard to drive the new programme forward. The Agency will be awarding funding to providers which successfully complete a full assessment and appraisal procedure to ensure that they meet the aims and objectives of the programme. In turn, SEEDA will be monitored by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the European Commission in order to ensure that specific economic activity targets are being delivered.
For more information please contact
Gemma Sheldon on Tel: 01483 470180
or Email: gemmasheldon@seeda.co.uk
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