Two years' funding pledge saves project to help foreign residents

Arun district councillors have agreed to allocate 56,000 from the government grant they will receive in 2009 and 2010 to the scheme.

The money will enable two people, one Polish and one Portuguese, to carry on the work of the expanding communities team.

This was set up to cope with the influx of central and eastern European migrant workers who flooded into Bognor soon after their countries joined the EU in 2004.

But the initial funding will run out next April to leave the project at risk of being scrapped unless the district council stepped in to save it.

Council head of strategy and partnership Jaqui Ball said the existence of the original six-strong team had been important to the council's work.

"In particular, the team's assistance to front line staff '“ at Bognor Regis Town Hall '“ has been invaluable in providing one-to-one service for clients unable to understand the intricacies of council processes.

"The council has also made use of the multi-lingual bulletins produced by the team, which have enabled us to put over key messages about issues ranging from houses in multiple occupation to community safety and recycling.

"One of the advantages to us and our partners from the team is the fact that it can gather data from its clients to help us monitor the changing situation in the district."

Cllr Paul Dendle, in charge of the council's finance and central services, said: "Community relations are relatively trouble free here. That's a credit to the local population, the expanding communities team and Jaqui Ball."

Cllr Gill Brown, the council's leader, said the funding was only agreed because it was being taken from the government's grants.

"We would not be funding this from our budget," she stated in a reference to the council's spending freeze on new commitments.

The expanding communities team for the Arun district was set up last May.

Its six workers were funded from a range of sources. Some of that money was short term and will run out this spring.

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