EU funding brings £11.5 million to Scottish Borders
Friday, September 12 2008
Between September 2006 and March 2008, more than 120 events in the Scottish Borders were supported by European funding. This helped to bring an estimated £11.5million in revenue to the Scottish Borders.
During this period, the Scottish Borders Council-run and European-funded Strategic Event Development project supported major events such as Melrose 125, the Jim Clark Rally, Model T Centenary and the Borders Book Festival. It also helped community events including the Borders Chinese New Year Dragon Festival in Galashiels, Verdi Requiem in Kelso and Dogs Allowed in Lauder.
The aim of the £115,000 project was to enhance the reputation of the Scottish Borders as an excellent location for a wide variety of events, from small regional events to major international events that celebrate the area’s unique culture, heritage and landscape.
The event development project was part funded by the EU Objective 2 Programme to the tune of £57,000, with the match funding being provided by the Council. Over 18 months, two part-time fieldworkers were employed to assist with the development of events, providing hands-on support for event organisers. A total of 126 events received support, with 22 of these receiving in-depth help including advice on PR and marketing, health & safety and event management.
Other successes from the project include the creation of the Scottish Borders Event Forum, the delivery of workshops to event organisers and help for events such as the St James Fair, Hawick Reivers, Eyemouth Herring Queen and Scott’s Selkirk.
The project has highlighted the economic value of the events industry to the Borders, being responsible for attracting approximately 380,000 new visitors to the Borders with around £11.5 million being generated through visitor spending. The project has also generated around £193,000 of support from other sources towards events in the Borders and created or safeguarded 204 full-time equivalent jobs in the region.
Councillor Vicky Davidson, Executive Member for Economic Development, said: “The Scottish Borders has a packed annual events programme, from community events to national events. The Objective 2 European funding programme has assisted organisers in the Scottish Borders in maximising the impact of their events. Although that funding has now come to an end, the Scottish Borders Event forum will pick up on the momentum created by the Strategic Event Development project and continue to help bring as much revenue as possible to the Borders by building on our reputation as a venue for some of the best events in the country.”
Tony Lockey, chairperson of the new Scottish Borders Event Forum, which brings professional and community event organisers together, said: “The Borders Event Forum provides excellent networking opportunities as well as lively and informative training and talks. Over and above this I believe the forum has a very important role in highlighting the importance of events to the local economy and the continued need for event support within the locality. Events make a huge impact, they bring communities together and support tourism and there is a myriad of ongoing events in the Scottish Borders based around local arts, crafts and sports.”
The Event Forum is hoping to obtain LEADER funding to provide assistance to events in future.
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