A partnership formed to improve the lives of poor people living on the West Sussex coast is to receive a £500,000 cash boost.

The Coastal West Sussex Area investment Framework (CWSAIF) identifies the action needed over the next five years to help disadvantaged residents living in towns including Selsey, Bognor, Littlehampton, Worthing and Shoreham.

The South-East England Development Agency (Seeda) has earmarked the extra cash to kick-start important regeneration projects this spring.

The money will be used alongside private, public and voluntary sector funding to tackle problem areas along the coast including health, housing, business enterprise, employment, transport and crime.

West Sussex county councillor Clive Williams, chairman of the CWSAIF partnership board, said: "This process has brought together all the major funding bodies who share responsibility for improving the lives of local people in deprived areas.

"Seeda's proposed contribution of £500,000 for the first year shows that we have designed an action plan which tackles the right areas and will hopefully lead to even greater investment in future years.

"But the Area Investment Framework is not simply a bid to attract much-needed funding into the West Sussex coastal area.

"It is an attempt by all the major authorities and organisations already involved in regeneration efforts to find new ways of working to achieve more.

"There is a real commitment to overcome territorial boundaries and put people at the heart of our efforts.

"We are all aware of the priority areas so we are not trying to reinvent the wheel but we are determined to share our experiences, resources and skills to identify and tackle the gaps in current regeneration work."

Detailed discussions are taking place to pinpoint priority projects for this financial year and the subsequent three to five years.

Monday February 16, 2004