Regeneration and economic growth

South West

The South West is the only English region to qualify for both Convergence funding (in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) and Competitveness and Employment funding across the rest of the region.

The ERDF South West Competitiveness region covers the unitary authority areas of Devon, Plymouth, Torbay, Somerset, Bournemouth, Dorset, Poole, Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Swindon. The area qualifies for European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) investment for the 2007-13 Programming period of €124.7m.

Call for Expressions of Interest under the South West Competitiveness Programme are promoted in the Applying for Funding section. There is currently one live call for outline applications under Priority 3 Axis which focuses on stimulating enterprise in deprived urban areas.

Priorities

The South West Competitiveness Operational Programme Document outlines the investment priorities for the Competitiveness and Employment programme in the region. It focuses on three main priorities:

  • Priority 1 - Innovation and Knowledge
    The aim of this priority is to improve the regions overall performance with regard to innovation and close the intra-regional gap in innovation performance. The priority has a key role to play in maximising the economic contribution from the region's Higher and Further Education institutions and helping companies exploit their own ideas and innovations.
  • Priority 2 - Enterprise and Growth
    The aim of this priority is to increase the contribution that new businesses make to the economy and reduce the intra-regional disparities in enterprise rates. This priority has a key role to play in addressing the low earnings, low skilled nature of the economy.
  • Priority 3 - Urban Enterprise
    The aim of this priority is to find new approaches to addressing the problems in the region's most deprived neighbourhoods through enterprise creation. Resources will be focused on activities to benefit the deprived neighbourhoods of Bristol, Plymouth and Torbay.

The South West Competitiveness Operation Programme Document setting out the strategy of the Programme and levels of funding for each priority can be found with other key documents on the following pages.

For general queries, please email SWcomp.ERDFenquiries@communities.gsi.gov.uk or see the contact details under the 'Applying for Funding' section.

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