Government Offices | East of England |

Several European Structural Fund (ESF) programmes were available in the East of England during the period 1994 – 1999. Konver II, PESCA, LEADER II, Objective 5b and SME Objective 5b were all national programmes with a regional allocation. Government Office for the East of England contributed towards the national final report prepared by the national Managing Authority for each of these Community Initiatives.

Objective 5b East Anglia Programme
Parts of East Anglia were granted Objective 5b status for the period 1994-1999. This programme was designed to help mainly rural areas adjust to anticipated changes in traditional employment sectors such as farming and fisheries.
The areas covered were parts of Breckland, 8 wards in central Lowestoft and the areas given transitional status in Objective 2. Over 95% of programme funds, about £40 million, was ultimately committed to projects.

LEADER II
The LEADER II Community Initiative operated in the same areas as the Objective 5b Programme. LEADER provided funding to help local communities to develop the economies of their area, and to improve their environment and cultural life. Just under £2 million (98% of the allocation) was committed to support community projects with an economic dimension, mostly supporting community-focused business support activity, tourism and environmental projects through ERDF and capacity building projects through the ESF.

KONVER II
The KONVER II Community initiative was designed to assist economic diversification in areas heavily dependent on defence. Parts of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk were designated for support from the initiative. KONVER II ran from 1995-1997 and was later extended to the end of December 1999. It provided total funding of around £8.8 million.

PESCA
The PESCA Community Initiative provided support to Southend, Lowestoft and King’s Lynn areas, which are areas dependent on the declining fisheries industries. £1.1 million of funding (1995-1999) helped those areas to diversify from fisheries and provide other sources of employment for those affected by that decline.

SME Initiative
The SME Initiative made available just under £1m of assistance (1997-1999 through the ERDF and ESF, to help small and medium sized companies to adapt to the single market. All areas eligible under Objective 5b were similarly eligible under this Initiative. However, the late start to the programme together with a lack of match funding and the availability of similar help through other programmes all contributed to the programme’s failure to attract project applications.

1994-1999 Programmes

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