Funding for Community Projects

Using over £4 million of funding from the European Union's 'European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)' (external site) Staffordshire County Council has, for the past five years, helped to regenerate some of the most deprived areas of Staffordshire.

Working in partnership with Local and District Authorities, the Voluntary Sector and local Community Groups, the Council's Staffordshire Priority 3 Action Plan - set up to manage and administer the Development Fund - has supported a variety of Projects that have improved the lives of people by overcoming problems such as unemployment, low educational attainment, homelessness and a lack of basic skills.

22 Projects have been developed and delivered to date and, amidst many other achievements, have:

• Provided advice, guidance and counselling to over 1,347 people
• Trained as many as 323 unemployed and employed people - over 150 of which have received accredited qualifications such as OCNs, NVQs, etc.
• Funded approximately 56 child-care places
• Helped over 170 people find employment - including self-employment
• Attracted more than 233 trainees and volunteers to help in a variety of capacity building initiatives within each project
• Generated £137,503+ in sales from 4 newly created community enterprises
• Created 28 new jobs within the Projects themselves
• Provided 3767m2 of community premises in the form of two purpose-built training facilities and one renovated facility in Burton and two purpose-built Children's Centres in Stoke-on-Trent.
• Provided additional training skills for over 15 trainers
• Created 12 new business start-ups

Unfortunately, no further Projects are being funded under the Objective 2 Programme, which officially completes at the end of December 2008.  However, if you would like further information on the next round of European Funding which is being dealt with by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, please contact Jonathan Phipps - Policy, Strategy & External Funding Manager on 01782 232747 or on E-mail: jonathan.phipps@stoke.gov.uk

For additional information on the Staffordshire Priority 3 Action Plan follow the link or contact Adnan Laskar, Programme Manager, on 01785 276341 or on E-mail: adnan.laskar@staffordshire.gov.uk

To look at some of the Projects running in your area and to see the type of work they are doing, please go to the page links for Burton, Cannock, Stoke-on-Trent and Tamworth.