EUROPEAN funding could soon be available to protect land and homes in north Suffolk which are to be abandoned to the sea.

East of England MEP Geoffrey van Orden, met flooding and erosion experts from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) in a bid to secure funding to protect the Blyth estuary.

Mr van Orden, who took a boat trip around the estuary in February to see breaches in the walls for himself, said that the meeting in Cambridge was a success and he is now working towards putting in a formal bid for regional development funding. (more…)

A group fighting the effects of climate change and global warming on the Norfolk coast and the Broads has been given nearly £4m over the next six years to promote the area.

The £3.8m from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is part of a £20m grant to be allocated between now and 2013 to local action groups across the East of England.

The Norfolk Coast and Broads Local Action Group was one of six groups in the East of England to be successful in its application for funding under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

The group has been given the go-ahead to develop a six year investment programme to increase the economic opportunities in the area and help land based businesses, rural businesses and communities. Individual projects will then be approved as the investment programme takes shape. (more…)