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Project summary
 The
Blackburn East project is located
to the east of the centre of a post-industrial
town in the north of England and the
WuC area straddles three local authority
district wards, which lie in the worst
10 per cent of wards in terms of deprivation
nationally. This area suffers from
multiple deprivation and there is
a high proportion of residents from
minority ethnic communities - predominantly
Indian or Pakistani. The area presents
a mix of housing tenures. It is part
of an SRB5 and Objective 2 area and
lies within the Blackburn with Darwen
Education Action Zone.
Blackburn East Area Community Help
(BEACH) partnership is a formally
constituted community-based umbrella
organisation (drawing together a number
of local community based organisations)
working to develop the social, recreational
and economic status of East Blackburn.
BEACH partnership developed and submitted
a bid for capital funding to DfES
with Blackburn with Darwen Borough
Council acting as the 'accountable
body'.
Considerable effort was made to engage
relevant local organisations and an
initial steering group was drawn together
by BEACH partnership in order to develop
the bid document. The project received
substantial technical support in the
development stages from Blackburn
with Darwen Borough Council and their
Digital Envoy.
The WuC project has a number of project
partners including Blackburn and Darwen
Borough Council Blackburn Regeneration
Partnership, Blackburn College and
Bootstrap Enterprises - a local organisation
committed to building and supporting
community enterprise.
 A
Project Board was formally established
and maintains a strong community focus
because the majority of Board members
are specified BEACH representatives.
The full Board meets bi-monthly with
a smaller Executive Committee that
meets in between times.
Revenue funding was used in part
to employ a small project team to
deliver the project locally. This
comprised a project manager, project
officer, web content manager and administrative
assistant.
The project has equipped 2,500 households
with Internet access, with the majority
of households accessing the Internet
via a new PC with 56k modem dial up
access. A smaller number (370) of
households have access via a set top
box. The project widened its original
area due to the initially low take
up of the technology.
The project provided three months
free access to the Internet (via a
local ISP) and developed an innovative
solution to encourage Internet use
through the development of an electronic
card through which Internet time
can be bought and topped up at local
outlets. Significant amounts of training
have been provided for participants,
and the project has been successful
in generating demand for learning
opportunities. Blackburn College has
played a key role in the development
of the project, particularly in relation
to the development of the training
elements.
The BEACH Partnership has now become
a company limited by guarantee (BEACH
Partnership Limited) and has responsibility
for the future development of the
WuC project. A key issue for the project
is the need to secure ongoing revenue
support for the project, which currently
has SRB and ERDF funding to March
2004.
From April 2003, BEACH Partnership
Ltd is developing a Business Plan
for the future sustainability of the
programme. A key factor is likely
to involve the development of a community
business, which will have a portfolio
of revenue-generating activities.
It is envisaged that WuC is just one
element of these activities. The development
of the community business will be
supported by Bootstrap
Enterprises, which has a remit
to grow new community businesses in
the area. Additional development support
is available on a consultancy
basis, funded by DfES.
Identifying sources of revenue funding
to support the capital investment
provided by the DfES proved to be
a considerable challenge. The Council
was crucial to the identification
of sources of funding, which included
accessing SRB5 and ERDF funding streams.
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