Objective One reaches £100 million milestone

Cornwall’s Objective One Programme has reached a major milestone with the value of Objective One grants earmarked for projects now standing at more than £100 million.

Ten new projects have been recommended for approval for £27.6 million of Objective One funding in the last week, taking the total amount of grant allocated so far to £100.4 million.

Objective One Programme director Bill Bawden said: “Hitting the £100 million milestone puts us about £11 million ahead of our target for this year and we’re delighted.

“We have now approved 173 projects under Objective One with a total value of more than £200 million.”

Last week’s meeting of the Objective One Working Group recommended approval for 10 new projects worth a total of £47 million.

Of these, three are seeking £25.7 million from the European Regional Development Fund; three are seeking almost £1 million from the European Social Fund; one project has been earmarked for £748,000 through the agriculture fund and three projects are seeking £153,000 through the Objective One fisheries fund.

The projects will not be publicly announced until they receive final grant approval from the Government Office for the South West and legal contracts have been exchanged.

Mr Bawden said: “This crowns a successful year for Objective One, during which time we have really seen the programme come into its own.

“One of the highlights has been the launch of the £12.5 million ACT NOW project which aims to bring broadband internet access and training to 3,300 businesses across Cornwall.

“Another has been the continued evolution of the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) project, where we will see exciting developments through a multi-million pound investment in the next 12 months.

“We can look forward to 2002 with growing confidence and optimism as increasing numbers of Objective One projects reach maturity.

“There are also a number of significant events on the horizon which will raise Cornwall’s profile even further, not least a visit by the Queen to mark the start of her golden jubilee tour and the opening of the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth.”