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Fringe benefits - the City Fringe Partnership celebrates ten years of achievements


London, 16 November 2006


The City Fringe Partnership (CFP), recent winners of the Enterprising London award, tonight celebrates its ten year anniversary and its ongoing success in helping to reduce the wealth gap between the Square Mile and the City Fringe.


Established in 1996, the CFP is widely regarded as a model of best practice in economic regeneration and its work in the area was recently recognised when it won the Enterprising London award (2006). The CFP works with businesses themselves to define investment plans for their industry - in effect roadmaps for future growth and sustainability - with the aim of ensuring that local people benefit.


Between 1996 and 2003, the CFP undertook an £8 million SRB4 programme, which brought £78 million public and private funding into regeneration projects in the area. For the past three years the CFP has been working with the London Development Agency to implement the City Growth approach in the UK. This stresses the competitive advantages of inner city areas and the importance of clusters of related businesses in the same industry sector and in close geographical proximity.


The City Fringe area itself is vitally important to London as a place of business but there is a significant skills mismatch between the local population and the sectors that are thriving. Over the past three years the Partnership has secured £15.3 million in support of sector development - establishing projects that are addressing barriers to enterprise growth and local employment, including:


Jewellery - a £3 million regional programme to secure export opportunities, provide access to the latest technology, set up a jewellery visitor centre in the heart of London's jewellery quarter, and explore the possibility of establishing a 'London Jewellery Week'.


Print & Publishing - addressing industry concerns about effective management and business development, environmental sustainability, and encouraging new recruits into an ageing workforce through a £1 million programme. Supported by a dedicated business champion networks of businesses are also being encouraged, including joint bidding for contracts and joint sourcing of products.


Fashion - enabling businesses to meet the fast turnaround, short-run, and design-led demand of the London and export markets; encouraging new skills in design and production within the area's diverse communities.


Health & Social Care -focusing on job brokerage and mentoring services for local candidates and bringing together schools, colleges and employers to improve the profile of healthcare careers.


Visitor Economy: Cultural Tourism - creating a Cluster Action Group to engage local businesses in supporting the Mayor's London Tourism Vision.


Visitor Economy: Hospitality & Catering - promoting the industry as an employment option for local people, encouraging improvements in the local environment and marketing the City Fringe as a destination to local, national and international visitors.



For further information please contact Joe Hannam Maggs at the City Fringe Partnership on:
07791 997 891 or email: joseph.hannam-maggs@cityfringe.org.uk
www.cityfringe.org.uk