Urban 

The URBAN Community initiative is a small but important European Programme, for investment in urban areas that are experiencing economic and social decline. 

The initiative for Hetton and Houghton, "Connecting the Coalfield", is one of eight in England.     

Connecting the Coalfield is designed to create a sustainable future for Hetton and Murton, by tackling problems of population decline, joblessness, social exclusion and physical decay. 

It covers the coalfield settlements of Hetton le Hole, South Hetton, Haswell and Murton. The population of the area is approximately 34,000. The cost of the programme is approximately £17m, and the URBAN grant support is £8m, to be matched with funding from domestic sources. 

The Draft Programme was submitted to the European Commission in June 2001 and formal approval was received from the European Commission in December 2001.

Urban II - Community Initiative for Hetton & Murton

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