EEDA - East of England Development Agency

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Community assets

Enabling community organisations to take on ownership and management of public assets is a powerful tool for local economic regeneration.

These assets, such as buildings or other community facilities, can provide a basis for social enterprise - giving opportunities for individuals to develop skills, confidence, aspiration and revenue streams for the community.

Building communities

The Building Communities programme supports community-owned organisations seeking grants for purchasing and developing buildings or land with a sustainable business model for generating local economic benefit. It provides opportunities for training and bursaries to help organisations become 'investment ready'. It also signposts them to sources of information and funding. In addition, EEDA will itself give a small number of capital grants to selected projects.

In 2007/08, EEDA gave 32 bursaries to assist the development of plans for projects. These range from the creation of social and micro-business incubator space to the initiation of large-scale projects like North Walsham Wind Farm, which will support social and economic development within a new 25,000 home building scheme in Harlow. Four capital grants were also committed totalling £2.4 million.

Building Communities is managed by a consortium of specialists in social enterprise. Co-operative and Community Finance leads the consortium in partnership with The Plunkett Foundation and Social Enterprise East of England (SEEE).

For further information please visit www.buildingcommunitiesfund.org.uk or contact Ken Smith at ken.smith@co-opandcommunityfinance.coop or 01582 620008.

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