Another Undercover Elephant?

Richard Clark writes today in the Newcastle Journal..." Anti-assembly arguments do not stand up to examination."

Since we exposed 'Undercover Elephants' who forget to disclose an interest (click here) perhaps another has appeared.

Could the above Richard Clark be the same Richard Clark who has been "content to follow the debate in the press" but who is also heavily involved in regional politics and mentioned here?

DESIGN WORKS

"Design Works, located in the Felling area of Gateshead in North East England was once a redundant warehouse. In 1989, the owners, Burton Group plc, with help from Project North East (PNE), opened the redeveloped property to promote the importance of design and marketing to commerce and industry throughout the North East.

The new Design Works was a mixture of managed workspace and conference and exhibition facilities. "The exhibition and conference facilities served their pupose, but were overtaken by newere developments and the need for improved accessibility. With this in mind, PNE approached GO NE with a £260,000 scheme totransform the under-used space into "incubator workspaces" for new businesses. "The scheme was awarded a vital £60,000 grant from the ERDF, with the remainder of funding provided by the local RDA One NorthEast.

Providing incubator workspace for new businesses is an integral part of the'Objective 2' Programme's regeneration strategy. The units are set aside for people starting a business or who ave been trading for less than three years,with particular focus on the creative sector where businesses are fragile but potentially high growth. High quality premises for local SMEs, providing the latest technology andservices are vital to help the businesses grow and become more competitive. The businesses there also benefit from supportand advice from Project North East.

By July 2002, four units were already occupied. A further five units were ready for letting, three of which had been reserved by prospective tenants.

"Richard Clark, Project North East said: "The European grant has enabled the conversion of around 7,000 sq ft to 400 sq ft, each of which has an alarm, air conditioning, broadband Internet access and 'easy in, easy out' terms. The project also involves work to improve the overall accessibility of Design Works such as creating a new reception area, ensuring that all meeting rooms are on the ground floor, and providing a new lift to theupper floor. Without the grant, and the assistance of the Government Off icefor> the North East in obtaining it, this project could not have gone ahead."

"This is taken from "the 2002-3 report on the work of the governmentOffices> for the English Regions produced by the Regional Co-ordination Unit".

"Government Offices administer a number of significant funding streams> provided by the European Commission."