Devon County Council led the delivery of the Environment Cross Cutting Theme in the SW Objective 2 Programme for 2000-2006.   

The South West Objective 2 Programme provided support worth £120 million to over 160 projects that delivered new jobs, help businesses start and grow, and raise skill levels in the region. One of its objectives was to protect and enhance the environmental assets of the region, in recognition of the importance of the environment as a key economic driver.

Working with Government Office for the South West, South West Regional Development Agency, Environment Agency, Natural England and English Heritage we provided support and guidance to every project. The results have been impressive: over 70% of all the spend on economic development projects also delivered significant environmental benefits.

The European Commission have judged the South West to be the leading European region for environmental integration in economic development and our work has been taken forward into the new European programmes in the region and the rest of Europe.  We helped to share the lessons learnt with the rest of Europe by working with the Greening Regional Development Funds project.

We have published four booklets featuring projects that show how activity aimed at economic regeneration has had a positive impact on our environment, and how environmental and economic issues need not be mutually exclusive:

• Energy and resource efficiency (1.06MB - pdf help)
• Historic environment (1.42MB - pdf help)
• Natural environment (1.53MB - pdf help)
• Training and awareness (1.19MB - pdf help)

The following reports give more detail as to how the environment theme was developed and delivered, how successful the SW and other UK regions have been and how the environment sector participated in the programmes:

• SW Objective 2 Programme, Environmental Sustainability, Adrian Dawson, final report – July 2007 draft (735KB - pdf help)
• Environmental Integration within UK Structural Fund Programmes – A comparative Study, Roger Tym and Partners for Devon County Council, June 2004, final report (353KB - pdf help)
• The Effectiveness of EU Structural Funds in Delivering the Government’s environmental Objectives, Fraser Associates, October 2005, Final Report (1.22MB - pdf help)
• South West Objective 1 & 2 Programmes – Investment in the environment sector, evaluation study, Ekos for South West Objective 2 Programme Environmental Theme Partnership and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Objective 1 Programme, August 2008, final report (478KB - pdf help)
• Investment in the environment sector, South West Objective 1 & 2 Programmes – evaluation study, EKOS, Final Report, August 2007 (478KB - pdf help)

For more information contact:

Alex Huke
Cross Cutting Themes Manager
European Programmes Team
South West Regional Development Agency

07725 826422
Alex.Huke@southwestrda.org.uk
www.southwestrda.org.uk