CHIEF Minister Allan Bell MHK has outlined the success so far of the town and village regeneration scheme.
Rushen MHK Laurence Skelly asked Mr Bell in the House of Keys yesterday (Tuesday) how much of the £8m for the 2009 scheme had been spent and allocated, broken down by town and village.
He also wanted to know whether the scheme had been successful for those areas and if Mr Bell would ring fence the funds and extend the scheme.
Mr Bell revealed the total amount spent from the fund is £656,287.
Douglas has had the most spent on it with a total of £327,835 followed by Ramsey (£212,064) and Peel (£31,416).
The total amount allocated from the fund is £1,757,101 and some of that allocation has been spent.
In terms of whether the scheme has been successful Mr Bell said: "Regeneration work has sparked a real interest in our town and village centres and the vital part they play in supporting the local economy.
"In the two and a half years since the town and village scheme was established the work is well underway, the foundations have been laid, the framework is being built and it has started to deliver tangible improvements to our towns and villages."
He added: "In terms of hard facts between 6,000 and 7,000 people took the time to complete questionnaires, attend focus groups and put comments into regeneration consultations.
"77 applications have been made to the fund, 59 of which have been from the private or voluntary sector.
"Nearly half a million of private or voluntary sector money has been spent/allocated on regeneration improvements to property in regeneration areas.
"Two new business/trade associations have been established.
"85 per cent of the allocated funding has or will be spent on Island in the construction sectors.
"Footfall and the take up of grant applications from individual landowners has been measured before the schemes in the public realm took place and will be measured in the future to compare."
Mr Bell said the fund is ringfenced and interest has increased it to £8.9m.
In terms of extending the fund he said: "The need to consider extending the fund has arisen because the local regeneration committees have identified regeneration priorities which, if they were all constructed, would cost more than is currently in the fund.
"When the Chief Minister's steering group was established in 2009 it envisaged that the fund may be added to in the future.
"The current financial situation coupled with the local regeneration committee's priorities for funding necessitated a review of that expectation.
"Careful consideration has been given as to the way forward for the important work of regeneration.
"I am pleased to tell you that I and my fellow ministers on the regeneration steering group will be working closely with Treasury over the next three to four years to identify opportunities for additional funding above the current fund.
"The additional funding and the current fund will be used over this longer timescale to implement the regeneration priority schemes across the Island which have community backing, raise the quality of the physical environment and support the economy."
