The European Projects team at Lewisham have continued their successful approach of recent years in winning a number of high profile EU funded projects.
Work on the EU LIFE funded QUERCUS Project has now been completed with a second channel for the River Ravensbourne constructed through the northern section of Ladywell Fields. Central to this project is testing whether the concept of designing out crime can be transferred from ‘hard’ building developments to a ‘soft’ environmental setting. The project aims to prove this through increased usage and an improved ‘safety factor’ of the redesigned park.
The Lewisham Young Mayor and Young Advisors have built strong links with similar organisations in Eastern Europe through the EU’s Youth in Action Fund. Following successful exchanges between Lewisham, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic during 2006-07, the partners have submitted a successful application to the new Youth Democracy programme. The project, which begins in summer 2008, will explore and build on the links between the democratic involvement of young people and their adult counterparts in each location.
The Economic Development team will continue to take responsibility for Lewisham’s involvement in accessing some of the £330m European Social Fund and £120m European Regional Development Fund directly available to London boroughs and their partner organisations.
Lewisham is well positioned to build on its current success in accessing European Funds. New opportunities, networks and partnerships are being actively developed to take advantage of the European funds launched to achieve the environmental, social, economic and energy efficiency objectives of the Commission from 2007–2013.
The European Projects Manager is working to strengthen partnerships across NW Europe (France, Germany, Holland and Belgium), and with the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Poland to enable Lewisham to be in a strong position to benefit from continued European funding.