14.11.05
Minister announces £1.7 million Objective One investment to boost industrial development in Redruth

Communities and Local Government Minister David Miliband, today formally announced investment of £1.7 million from the European Objective One programme towards the £3.5 million Barncoose link road during a visit to Cornwall.

The new road, which will open up the existing 15 acre Barncoose Industrial Estate to further investment, will also remove heavy lorries serving the estate from the centre of Pool and surrounding residential areas and improve access to the Camborne and Redruth Community Hospital.

It is hoped the new access to the estate will lead to an additional 40,000 sq metres of industrial workspace in the next nine years with the potential to create around 950 new jobs. The road will also mark the first phase of the planned Camborne - Redruth East - West route.

Mr Miliband said: "I am delighted to be able to announce Objective One funding for this major infrastructure investment which has come about through a real partnership approach and will create new jobs in an area of historically high unemployment."

Carleen Kelemen, Director of Cornwall's Objective One Partnership, said: "Improving transport infrastructure where it is a barrier to economic development is an important part of transforming the economic future of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The Barncoose Link Road will open up industrial land for development by the private sector."

Additional investment for the road is being provided by Cornwall County Council (£1.5 million) and the South West Regional Development Agency (£170,000) with backing from Kerrier District Council and Camborne Pool Redruth Regeneration Company.

Mr Miliband was in Cornwall to learn about tourism, employment and regeneration initiatives taking place in Cornwall. During the day he visited the Fistral Beach International Surf Centre in Newquay to discuss Cornwall's plans for the development of the tourist industry with local tourism leaders from the private and public sector.

He also visited Camborne Pool Redruth Regeneration Company to discuss their plans for the regeneration of the area and their work with partners under the Government's Neighbourhood Renewal programme. Mr Miliband met people who had been helped back into work through the innovative Neighbourhood to Pathways programme run by local JobCentre Plus offices and Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change (CN4C).

CN4C is a community-based regeneration company working with some of the most deprived communities in Cornwall. Their work focuses on the residents of often long-neglected housing estates on the edges of Cornwall's towns and villages. The team comprises not just employment advisers but also community development workers. They go out into the community to help clients take their first steps towards training, education and employment. This often involves confidence building and overcoming practical obstacles to accessing paid work.

For further information please contact Wailim Wong on 01752 635053.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Barncoose Link Road project through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Programme has also invested in the Camborne, Pool, Redruth Regeneration Company through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). In addition the Programme has invested in JobCentre Plus through the European Social Fund (ESF).

Editor's notes:

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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