21.05.03

Pentewan Residents' Association (PRA) is celebrating, having been awarded £29,500 towards a study to look at the regeneration of Pentewan with the help of Restormel Regeneration Partnership Integrated Area Plan (IAP) team.

The Rural Key Fund have contributed £27,000, and Restormel Borough Council gave £2,500, with £500 coming from the PRA. Integrated Area Plans (IAPs) are the way in which Objective One can help communities. These plans integrate the economic, social and environmental aspects of the Objective One Programme for use in a specific area. There are eleven plans throughout Cornwall, three of which (St Austell Bay, China Clay Area, and Newquay & its Rural Hinterland) are covered by Restormel Regeneration Partnership's IAP team.

Diana Cross, Chairman of the PRA, is clearly delighted, "The project will enable the village to assess the consequences and costs of making environmental and economic improvements to the area. This is something we have been considering for a long time, and Betty Hale, Development Officer with Restormel Regeneration Partnership, has been absolutely crucial in helping us to crystallise our ideas and win funding, not only from the Rural Key Fund, but also Restormel Borough Council. We have also raised money ourselves towards the cost of the project. We are really excited about the future!"

Although the village has many assets, the project will address the need for social and economic regeneration of the village, focusing on the harbour and its immediate area, and considering ways in which the harbour and surrounding redundant buildings could be improved to include uses such as and business/workspace units, in the hope that this would act as a catalyst to reverse the declining economy of the village. In this, the village would be working in partnership with Pentewan Sands Ltd., the adjoining landowners.

Betty Hale, Development Officer with Restormel Regeneration Partnership said, "The Rural Key fund was approached because it gives community groups an easier and simplified access to Objective One funding. This Pentewan project is a great example of the work that RRP can undertake, working closely with groups to provide free advice and support in developing projects and sourcing funds. Restormel Borough Council and the Rural Key Fund Team have been totally supportive throughout the application process and we are thrilled that this initial step in the regeneration of Pentewan is underway and look forward to seeing the results."