Community Led Local Development – shaping a bottom up economic programme for Cornwall.
A series of workshops and drop in sessions for residents and businesses to have a say in how future investment could be delivered are being held across Cornwall during May and June 2016.
The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership identified Community Led Local Development (CLLD) as a mechanism for delivering funding to the most deprived areas of Cornwall as part of a geographic targeted approach and as part of the wider delivery architecture for the EU Growth Programme.
The four LEADER Local Action Groups (West Cornwall, Coast to Coast, Atlantic and Moor and South and East Cornwall) have already been successful in securing £7.3 million of funding from the Rural Development Programme. The work on CLLD is complementary to this programme although focussed on smaller areas of deprivation. The four LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) are leading the development of CLLD and have secured preparatory funding to do this. The longer term governance structures for the delivery of CLLD will emerge as part of the preparatory work. External and locally based community engagement and planning consultants (CAG Consultants) have recently been appointed to assist the LAGs to fulfil the requirements of the CLLD preparatory support phase.
CLLD is a way of integrating and distributing funding from the EU Growth Programme, to create jobs, develop skills and achieve sustainable economic growth in Cornwall at a local level. If the bids for funding are successful the majority of the activity will focus on areas shaded red in the map below but a wider coverage may be possible.
The CLLD programme is based on four principles:
- it is bottom-up and targeted at local areas of greatest need;
- it is about finding innovative ways of addressing local challenges and opportunities;
- it is based on Local Development Strategies and led by Local Action Groups;
- and it brings together different types of activity in different sectors into a coordinated Strategy.
An extensive programme of community engagement and stakeholder consultation is planned over May and June this year. This work will inform a number of Local Development Strategies that will prioritise how new EU funding could be spent in the period 2014 – 2020. The Local Development Strategies will be complete in August 2016 and submitted to government soon afterwards.
Gerard Couper Project Manager from CAG consultants said ‘The important thing is that it is locally based, locally led and focused on local needs and opportunities. Our programme of work sets out to engage as many people in Cornwall as possible. We shall be holding workshops and pop up exhibitions in the major towns and villages where the need is greatest.’
A schedule of the events planned is included with this press release.
CLLD seeks to encourage new ideas – new techniques, new technologies, new knowledge, new approaches – as well as apply existing ideas in new areas. The programme sets out to address the big issues in specific areas in relation to employment, skills and work.
For example:
- Creating more jobs locally;
- Helping businesses stay viable;
- Helping businesses to grow;
- Helping people to start a business;
- Supporting people to get the skills they need to access jobs;
- Helping build confidence to get into training;
- Opportunities for young people to find training and work locally;
- Helping develop skills and qualifications once employed.
A community and business survey will inform the strategy, these will be available at all the consultation events as well as on the project website www.communityledcornwall.co.uk
The programme is also looking for more members of the community to volunteer from the public, private and voluntary/civil sectors who can come together to bring about economic change in an area at a local level. Further details will be available at the events.
The public can also have their say online using the website or engage on social media using #cornwallcommunity
Notes to the Editor
1. Press are welcome at the events – please make contact in advance.
2. Members of the Working Group and Consultants are available for interview.
3. European Structural and Investment Funds
The project has received up to £ [136,000] of funding from the England European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and £24,000 from Cornwall Council. The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) are the Managing Authorities for European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund
funding through the Growth Programme, funds established by the European Union to help local areas stimulate their economic development. By investing in projects the funds will help to support innovation, businesses, skills and employment to improve local growth and create jobs. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding
The community-led approach is a proven method of increasing local engagement modelled on the successful LEADER approach used across rural areas in Europe since the 1990s.
4. LEADER The LEADER approach used by Local Action Groups begins with the submission of a Local Development Strategy (LDS) to Government, detailing issues identified and strategies to address issues, via consultation and engagement with the local community. www.localactioncornwall.co.uk
5. CAG Consultants CAG Consultants is one of the UK’s leading sustainability, climate change and community engagement consultancies. They specialise in operating at the interface of policy and practice, and work with a wide range of clients (public, private and third sector) across the UK to develop better informed policy and strategy, and bespoke solutions to complex problems. Specialist areas include community engagement, energy and the low carbon economy, policy and programme evaluation, economic development, climate resilience and stakeholder engagement.
6. Cornwall Development Company Ltd
CDC is a local authority controlled company controlled by Cornwall Council.
They are acting as the Accountable Body for the CLLD preparatory work on behalf of the Local Action Groups listed above.
Contacts for CAG/CDC
Gerard Couper, Partner; 07866 361111 or 01364 210 123 gc@cagconsult.co.uk
Peter Sandover, Associate; 07967 145728 ps@cagconsult.co.uk
David Rodda MBE, Rural Delivery Manager CDC; 07968 892939 or david.rodda@cornwalldevelopmentcompany.co.uk