A RENEWED call for applications to use more than £5 million of Euro-pean funds in Newport will go out in the New Year.

There was a very poor response to offers of Objective Two funding in 2001 and Newport council's European Unit hope to receive more applications after their appeal on January 7.

The £5.3 million is available on a match-funded basis to support projects that provide small and medium-sized enterprises with advice and guidance.

Schemes that allow the development of sites and premises for SMEs are also welcome. Projects cannot be for the benefit of a single company, but must benefit the wider community.

There are also opportunities for the regeneration of urban communities and social enterprises. Projects under these headings must be community led. Just six bids for Objective Two funding, worth less than £500,000, have so far been supported by the council to go forward for approval by the Wales European Funding Office (WEFO).

With applications being accepted until February 1, the European Unit is looking for good quality applications that are innovative, fill a gap in the market and address the Local Action Plan.

The application must also promote equal opportunities and lifelong learning, encourage the use of information and communication technology, and be sustainable. As with any application for funding, the actual process may seem daunting but the European Unit and other agencies like the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) are there to help.

Newport also has Objective Three funding available to it which brings the total amount on offer to £7.2 million, but only a tenth has been applied for so far.

Anyone interested in applying should contact the European Unit at Newport council. Write to the European Unit, Civic Centre, Newport, NP20 4UR, telephone 01633 232237, email European@newport.gov.uk or visit www.newport.gov.uk/about/the council/eurofunding