EURO FUNDS SUPPORT TURNING THE TIDE

Government Office for the North East aims to work with regional partners and local people to maximise competitiveness and prosperity in the region.

Its objective, among others, is to support and promote a coherent regional approach to competitiveness; sustainable development; regeneration and social inclusion both through the Government programmes over which the Government Office has direct control and by influencing the action of partners and partnerships.

GO-NE has an important role in leading the partnership in the region for European Structural Funds. The region is a major beneficiary of these funds, having received more than £1 billion in the past decade. Before 2007 the region is expected to receive around £500 million in total.

European Structural Funds are the main way in which the European Union offers support to areas undergoing structural change or decline. In the North East these funds are administered by the European Programmes Secretariat located within GO-NE.

The secretariat is staffed both by civil servants from GO-NE and secondees from regional partner organisations such as universities, local authorities and Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs).

While Structural Funds assist lesser developed regions and sectors of the economy in difficulty, there are other funds known as Community Initiatives (CI) which address deprivation caused by more specific reasons.

The most important of these Community Initiatives is Rechar, which helps former coalfield areas. The North East Rechar II Programme 1994 - 1999 was set up to assist the economic and social conversion of coal mining areas hardest hit by the most recent pit closures in Durham, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear.

The programme had an overall resource of £18.8 million and closed on December 31, 1999 although project may continue until the end of 2001.

The Rechar Programme has given more than £1.4 million to 12 separate projects under the Turning the Tide initiative to restore the East Durham coastline to its former beauty. Reclamation, regeneration, marketing and promotional activities have all been supported by this cash.

The projects themselves vary, from removing mining related debris from local beaches in order to make the coastline more attractive to reclaiming the site of the former Easington Colliery.

Pathways and cycleways have been developed to link in with the national Sustrans network while Seaham Promenade and North Terrace Green have been renovated.

Tony Dell, Director, Europe, Industry, Trade and Technology at GO-NE, commented: "The European Secretariat is pleased that ERDF funds under the North East Rechar Programme 1994 - 99, have been utilised to address the poor image of the former East Durham Coalfield coastline in order to encourage potential inward investors and promote new economic activities such as tourism.

"The availability of Rechar II funding has been a significant factor in the success of Turning the Tide. This is another way ERDF funds are helping in the regeneration of the North East."