Contact: Chitra Nadarajah, ext 6771

1. Summary

1.1 The following decisions are sought:

(i) That approval be given to the submission of the ESPACE bid for Interreg IIIB funding, with Hampshire County Council as the beneficiary.

(ii) That a further report be submitted for authority to sign the contract if the bid is approved.

2. Reason

2.1 Hampshire County Council is working on climate change. Part of this work requires considering adaptation. The County Council is leading the partnership which is working on this issue. In view of the potential size of the bid (£4 million to £6 million), approval is required to submit an application with the Interreg IIIB secretariat.

3. Other Options Considered and Rejected

3.1 Not to prepare and submit this bid.

4. Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Decision Maker or a Member or Officer consulted - Not applicable.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the Matter being dealt with if Urgent - Not applicable.

Approved by: Date:

Councillor K B Estlin

7. ESPACE aims to:

Develop sustainable spatial planning policies and guidance which take into account the need to adapt to climate change within the North West Europe region.

This will be achieved by:

(i) undertaking case studies focused on a variety of topic areas to test various measures and their effectiveness in adapting to climate events; and

(ii) generating capacity among stakeholders to influence the integration of these adaptation strategies into spatial planning.

8. The ESPACE bid is being developed with partners in the South East Climate Change Partnership and other organisations within the North West Europe region. The bid will be submitted to the North West Europe Secretariat for approval in April 2002.

9. The County Council will benefit from being a part of this work by:

(i) bringing in external funding for existing work on climate change;

(ii) informing the County Council's response to climate change;

(iii) expanding the scope of existing climate change work through partnerships within the North West Europe region and lessons learnt as a result of this project; and

(iv) leading the response to climate change in the South East England region.

10. The total budget for the bid on behalf of all the partners could be between £4 million and £6 million. If the bid is successful up to two posts could be created within the County Council, which would be 50% funded by Europe.

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