Cumbria's economic leaders are calling on the government to rethink plans which will cut crucial new industrial developments and deprived areas near Workington out of a much-needed European programme.
Last month the government published its proposals for the designation of Assisted Areas for the period from 2007 to 2013. These are the areas in which it is possible to offer higher levels of public support to companies who wish to invest and grow.
Under the proposals, an area from the north of Workington to Wigton will lose its Assisted Area status. This will include the four wards of Seaton, Flimby, Ewanrigg and Netherhall, which contain some of the highest levels of deprivation in Cumbria. It would also have a negative impact on the £25m Derwent Forest project, which is transforming a former NATO ammunition dump into a major new economic development. The key industrial sites of Glasson and Risehow near Maryport will also lose their status.
Cumbria County Council, the district councils, enterprise agencies and regeneration companies have issued a combined response to the DTI. It argues there is no statistical case to support excluding the four wards from Assisted Area status, and to do so would stifle new investment opportunities that are important ingredients of the overall regeneration strategy for West Cumbria and Furness.
The DTI submission welcomes the fact that the Assisted Area status is retained across the whole of Furness and Copeland, and in the Ulverston and Workington areas. The draft map produced by the Government reduces the number of Cumbrians living in Assisted Areas from 45% to 38%. This is less than the 25% reduction faced by the UK as a whole, but the submission states that the proposed changes have targeted the wrong areas.
"Assisted Area status is essential to developing a sustainable economy in the West of Cumbria. There is already a significant amount of money being channelled into these communities, but giving them Assisted Area status gives us the tools to develop the economy for the long term. It means we can give money directly to businesses to help them grow and improve. Without that flexibility there is a very real risk that jobs could be at risk," said Councillor Timothy Heslop, cabinet member for the economy and regeneration.
Notes for Editors
The total population of the wards of Seaton, Flimby, Ewanrigg and Netherhall is 13,359.
In the period between 2000 and 2005, 24 companies in the district of Allerdale accessed RSA (Regional Selective Assistance) or SFI (Selective Financial Investment), which are grant packages open to companies in Assisted Areas.