What has the EU ever done for Cornwall?

Cornwall has received over 1 billion euros from the EU since the year 2000 which has helped fund jobs, local businesses, infrastructure, training and research.

Beneficiaries include the Combined Universities in Cornwall, Newlyn Fish Market, the Jubilee Pool in Penzance, the Camborne – Pool link road, the Eden Project, Superfast Broadband, and recently the new Penzance Heliport but there are many more (see links below). It has created more than 31,000 jobs and supported more than 26,000 businesses. Cornwall had been on course to receive another £350m for the next round of funding from the years after 2020.

Here are just a few of the recipients of EU funding in Cornwall and the amounts they received:

  • Newlyn Fish Market £1.3m
  • The Eden Project £26m+
  • Cornwall Airport Newquay £40m+
  • Combined Universities in Cornwall £173m
  • Superfast Cornwall (Broadband) £53.5m
  • Hall for Cornwall £2.1m
  • A30 Improvements £20m+
  • Innovation Centres (Pool, Tremough & Health & Wellbeing Treliske)
  • Aerohub Enterprise Zone £4.4m
  • Cornwall Business Start-Up £5.9m
  • Cornwall New Energy £2.7m
  • Cultivator Business Support £1m
  • Engagement and activity for the unemployed £12.9m
  • Unlocking Cornish Potential (UCP) £8m+
  • Export for Growth £2.4m
  • Family and Community Essential Skills £500k
  • Financial Readiness Project £3m
  • Heartlands Project £2.8m
  • Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) Support Team £1.9m
  • Invest In Cornwall £1.7m
  • Isles of Scilly Technical Assistance £500k
  • Isles of Scilly Voucher Scheme £1.4m
  • Jubilee Pool, Penzance Geothermal Heat Project £1.5m
  • Launchpad (Graduate start-up scheme) £9.8m
  • Outset Cornwall (Business Start-ups) £3.4m
  • Local Manufacturing Advisory Program £124k
  • Skills for Young People £1.3m
  • St Erth Multi Modal Hub (Transport Hub) £5.4m
  • Superfast Business £3m

    Download this list (pdf)

That Cornwall is one of the poorest regions in Europe suggests that this funding would not have come from our own Government. In 2017, Cornwall Council sought confirmation that £60 million of EU funding would not be lost but were awarded just £18 million instead.

Lists & maps of EU funded projects and businesses

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme
http://www.cornwallislesofscillygrowthprogramme.org.uk/projects/
All 40 projects invested in by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme can be found here along with a description of each project, related news stories, photographs charting the development of each investment.

News of the latest projects can be found at http://www.cornwallislesofscillygrowthprogramme.org.uk/news/

European Regional Development Fund Convergence 2007-13
http://www.erdfconvergence.org.uk/investments
An A-Z list of over 150 ERDF funded projects in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly with information about each. Did you know the Camborne-Pool-Redruth link road, King Edward Mine, Penzance Harbour, Seasalt and Truro & Penwith College have all benefited from EU funding?

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/657782/Convergence_list_of_beneficiaries_Feb_2017.pdf
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Convergence ERDF List of Beneficiaries (pdf)

https://www.businessinvestmentforgrowth.co.uk/case-studies
BIG 2, a £4.4 million investment fund aimed at creating skilled jobs for Cornwall. Companies benefiting include Mining Searches UK, Whistlefish, St Austell Printing Company, Cornwall Mobility, Cornish Rock Gin and Blue Wing Gallery.

What Europe Does For Me
https://what-europe-does-for-me.eu/en
How the EU benefits you in your region and in your everyday life, with briefings on EU policies.

My EU
https://www.myeu.uk/
Search by your address or postcode to see some of the investments and other contributions near you. With a handy link to contact your MP – just click on the button!

These are just a few of the many EU blue signs around Cornwall which signify projects in receipt of EU funding. For more information click here.