ST HELENS Council Leader Mike Doyle addressed a top level Euro conference in Germany this Monday (November 10).

In his speech he highlighted the need for continued funding to regenerate St Helens and the rest of Merseyside.

Mike, who travelled to Halle as chairman of the five district council leaders on Merseyside, spoke at a meeting of RETI, an organisation set up to promote the industrial regions of Europe.

His speech highlighted the good use that European funding has already been put to in the Merseyside area, with more than 1,100 projects on the go at any one time ranging from large capital programmes running into millions of pounds to small, community based projects.

He said European aid to the more needy areas of the community was vital to underpin the valuable work being undertaken by local authorities and the private sector to attract investment and jobs to areas like Merseyside, which have high unemployment levels.

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