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Through the Enterprising Communities strand of its activities the Sub-Regional Strategic Partnership (SSP) is supporting regeneration in market towns in the Alliance area outside the four principal towns of Mansfield, Chesterfield, Worksop and Newark.
This work has been delivered by Nottinghamshire Rural Community Council (NRCC) since October 2006 and is known as the Market Towns Regeneration Alliance Programme.
The programme is working with public and private sector partners and local communities to stimulate the economic and social regeneration of market towns in the Alliance SSP area of North Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire. This will mean sustaining their economic vitality, helping to improve services and stimulating a culture of enterprise and self help.
The primary purpose of the programme is to support market town regeneration through a bespoke programme of revenue- and capital-based support. This aims to develop sustainable communities by stimulating activity that supports economic, social and environmental growth in the sub-region’s market towns and rural hinterlands.
The programme’s target audience for support will be those organisations situated in or working for the benefit of market towns. These could be, for example, local/county authorities, strategic partnerships such as the Destination Management Partnerships, parish councils, civic trusts, community/voluntary groups, local businesses/trade associations. The programme has two strands:
1. Peripatetic Market Towns Development Officer
Providing support services for any market town in the Alliance area (outside the principal towns already outlined) with regard to development planning and helping to identify opportunities for funding to implement action plans, etc. The Alliance SSP Market Towns Forum is also facilitated through this function. A Knowledge Network electronic system is currently being produced through this strand, alongside training events to be held in Summer 2007.
2. Market Towns Regeneration Challenge Fund Management and administration of a capital grant fund for improving the physical infrastructure of market towns where economic outputs can be realized from any investment granted. Each LSP area has a notional ring-fenced capital allocation (just under £100k per district between 2006 when the project began and 31 March 2008) to bring forward projects for consideration of support by the SSP. It has been the responsibility therefore of the respective LSPs to identify which market town(s) in their area should receive capital investment from the funding available. The LSPs have taken a lead as to where most economic impact for any SSP investment levered can be realized.
The Market Towns Development Officer also provides a support service which can be accessed by market towns which do not have centre managers across the sub-region (outside the four principal towns) on a flexible basis and as aligned to need and demand. The Officer has been charged with linking up existing town centre managers and sharing best practice.
For more information please contact Kevin Cooper, Market Towns Coordinator, 01623 727610 kcooper@nottsrcc.org.uk
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Business support and the Role of Action for
Market Towns 
