This is how much the EU has spent funding projects in Bognor, Littlehampton, Arundel and the South Downs

Data compiled by pressure group MyEU revealed that 28 projects in Arundel and the South Downs benefited from at least £2,804,485 in funding between 1992 and 2020, while three projects in Bognor and Littlehampton received funding, according to the findings.

Within the Arundel and South Downs area, St Philip Howard Catholic School in Barnham benefited from £3,476 in EU funding towards a project to improve French and Spanish teaching at the school.

Community Coach, a community organisation and vocational college that is dedicated to improving the well-being of young people, which is based in Henfield, was one of nine organisations to receive a share of £114,505 for a project to give young people work experience in the Sports Coaching and Tourism and Tourism sectors in Southern Spain.

Among the businesses to benefit from funding were Cliff Funnell Associates, Intelligentsia Consultants Ltd and Tesla Engineering Limited.

In Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, only three projects were granted funding, according to the analysis by MyEU.

These included Littlehampton’s Girlguiding unit, which along with a Czech scouts group, received £25,253 towards a Scouts Exchange project which saw 40 scouts aged 14 to 20 take part in a joint project to promote inter-cultural dialogue and cultural awareness.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was awarded £1,334,402 towards a scheme at Pagham Harbour to improve the conservation status of the little tern.

Meanwhile the Littlehampton Academy received a share of £187,803 in funding toward a project called More Powerful Together, which aimed to overcome all forms of discrimination and raise awareness about equality.

While it is accepted the UK paid more into the EU than it got back in funding, many communities or projects which benefited from EU grants may be wondering what the future holds for them.

Hope Thomas and John Lees-Miller from MyEU said: “We found that EU had dozens of programmes that funded job creation, rural development, research, the arts and opportunities for young people in the UK. We, and a lot of people spoke to, didn’t know about all this local money being invested by the EU. Now that we have left, the UK government will have to step up to create new programmes to replace this funding.”

A Government spokesperson said: “The Government is committed to levelling up our regions and creating a UK Shared Prosperity Fund which binds together the whole of the UK, tackling inequality and deprivation in each of our four nations. We continue to work closely with interested parties across the UK as we develop this fund.”

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