A consortium of ten coastal authorities led by Tendring, Hastings and Rother has been successful in securing £40,000 in Sector Support Grant Funding via the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP). Participating authorities have each agreed to contribute £2,000 in match funding, giving this initiative a total cash pot of £60,000.
The SELEP Strategic Board awarded the funding at its meeting in December 2018 as a tangible demonstration of its ambition to ensure that the South East Coastal Strip performs at the level its geographic location, entrepreneurial businesses, excellent Further and Higher Education and strong international links demand that it should.
The prospectus will be used as a coastal addendum to the SELEP’s Strategic Economic Statement (agreed in December 2018), which will further highlight the coastal strip as an area of strategic priority.
Hastings Borough Council has agreed to be the Accountable Body for this commission and as such will manage the SELEP Grant as well as the funding contributions to be made by the participating authorities. Hastings will also manage the procurement of consultants (via the East Sussex Procurement Hub).
In addition to Hastings managerial/administrative responsibilities, officer representatives of Thanet, Rother, Southend and Tendring Councils will participate in the work of the Client Team overseeing the appointed contractors.
The study is expected to conclude in August 2019.