Plea for Cornwall to keep levelling up funding

Craig Mehew, from St Austell Table Tennis Club, says it would be a "massive loss" if the Shared Prosperity Fund was stopped

Community groups in Cornwall have pleaded for a financial support package from the government to be extended.

The Shared Prosperity Fund was set up post-Brexit and saw Cornwall receive £132m, which was then invested by Cornwall Council in projects to boost the economy and in community-based schemes.

It is unclear as to what - if anything - will replace the fund when the latest funding period ends in April.

The government said the future of the fund would be determined as part of its spending review, which was due to be confirmed in the Budget on Wednesday.

St Austell Table Tennis club received about £10,000 from the fund to host sessions in the town centre to encourage participation.

Craig Mehew, the club's development officer, said the funding helped boost participation.

"It's enabled us to put on those taster sessions and do a report to look at how we remove barriers like cost and transport to increase participation," he said.

"Ten thousand is not a lot of money for the benefit we are seeing - 70 people interacting, getting fit, and it's good for mental health."

Balu Madhvani said the Shared Prosperity Fund was needed to "level up" Cornwall

The Walker Lines Trust in Bodmin was granted about £110,000 from the fund to convert old squash courts into a new community space.

Trust chairman Balu Madhvani said: "It's going to make a massive difference to the people of Bodmin, because it can be used for anything - a theatre, for gigs, groups doing music, tap dancing."

He said he was concerned the Shared Prosperity Fund may be stopped.

"It would be a shame because we need this. We need to be levelled up," he added.

Phoebe Sampson, from St Ives Community Orchard, said the funding speeded up the group's project

The St Ives Community Orchard project received about £62,000 to create a teaching garden for children to learn about nature and plants.

Phoebe Sampson, the project's community engagement lead, said: "It's enabled us to get going and create these accessible pathways which are obviously quite expensive to build.

"We would have done some sort of garden here. It probably would've taken much longer and it wouldn't have been to such a high standard."

Felix Mortimer, from The Ladder in Redruth, said the fund helped Cornwall's creative industries

The Ladder in Redruth, a project converting the former library into a creative arts hub, received about £600,000 from the fund.

Felix Mortimer, one of the directors, said: "It's really important to fight for Cornwall.

"We need to show we can really pack a punch in terms of cultural and creative industries, but also in terms of importance to the national conversation.

"We're not just a holiday destination, we're a really important part of the economy of the whole UK."

Chris Hibbert said investment in Cornwall was "absolutely vital"

The Borlase Smart John Wells Trust received nearly £300,000 from the fund to turn some old sheds into art studios in Newlyn.

Manager Chris Hibbert said: "This project's been sitting on the backburner for five years.

"We were so fortunate the Shared Prosperity Fund came alive. Without it, this project would not have happened.

"Inward investment into Cornwall and peripheral communities is absolutely vital and Cornwall would be very much poorer without it."