Funds

Cornwall Council confirms Government’s EU funding replacement cash for Cornwall has run out


Cornwall Council has confirmed that the money it receives from the Government to replace EU grants following Brexit will run out in a month’s time, leaving over £230 million of fund applications by Cornish communities and businesses unmet. The council’s shadow cabinet member for economy has said this is “devastating” and has accused the Government of lying to Cornwall.

The Government confirmed in 2021 that “total funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) will at a minimum match the size of EU funds in each nation and in Cornwall each year” and it was estimated that “no worse off” equated to an average of £100m a year for the Duchy until 2025, with an additional three years to complete the spend of the investment. In reality, Cornwall has received around £43m a year.




The Government has currently not told Cornwall whether the SPF will continue after 2025, when the current tranche of money was due to end.

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Cornwall Council’s £137.6m Good Growth programme consists of the £132m SPF and a £5.6m Rural Prosperity Fund. As of October 2023, the programme received 1,395 expressions of interest which have resulted in 461 applications, requesting a total of £375m in SPF grant.

A total of 127 projects have been approved to date at a SPF value of £127.5m and a total project value of £189.4m. The council anticipates that the total £137.6m programme will be fully committed, with funding approved for specific projects, by the end of this year.

That means that over £230m of SPF requests will not be met, although they may have been rejected for a variety of reasons.



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