Sandown esplanade

Groups after coastal cash invited by Isle of Wight council to ‘get together’

This just in from the council. Ed


Groups bidding for money from the Coastal Communities Fund are being invited to get together by the Isle of Wight Council. The council’s Regeneration Team is hosting a free workshop at Riverside to coordinate the Island’s upcoming bids for government funding.

Coastal Communities Fund
The Coastal Communities Fund encourages the economic development of UK coastal communities.

Ryde and the Bay area are among more than 250 locations which have so far benefitted from funding to the value of £170 million across the UK.

This money is intended to deliver new jobs and attract new investment to coastal areas, including the Isle of Wight.

New round of funding
Now a new round of funding is planned with £40 million available to be spent in 2018 to 2019 across the country.

The council will be submitting a bid and will be working with other bidding organisations across the Island to ensure the Isle of Wight is one of the successful locations again.

Need to be coordinated in approach
Reniera O’Donnell, the council’s assistant director of regeneration, said:

“The Island is a perfect fit for this important government fund and we’ve already seen significant benefits from previous rounds.

“There are already some great bids coming together for the new funding so we want to make sure we are coordinated in our approach, and not duplicating each other’s work.

“We want to hear from anybody who’s drawing up a bid, or thinking of starting one.

“The easiest way is to come along to our workshop, where we’ll be hearing from other bidding organisations, and looking at opportunities for partnership working and other support.”

Where and when
The Coastal Communities Fund Workshop takes place in the Trafalgar Room, Riverside Centre, Newport on 28 March 2018 between 3-5pm.

It’s free to attend. For more infor contact [email protected] or call the Isle of Wight Council’s Regeneration Team on (01983) 821000 ext: 6224

Image: © Jon Platt