"Tiny Villages" in response to the housing shortage – one of many projects receiving EU funding

Can villages of "Tiny Homes" attract young adults, hungry for a few years of nature experiences and adventures in Norrbotten? And could it be part of the solution to Norrbotten's housing shortage? Tiny Villages is one of many projects in our county that was granted EU funds last week. Region Norrbotten is co-financing several of the projects.

Over SEK 150 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF+) is going to 32 projects in Norrbotten. These are projects that will contribute to a smarter, greener and more connected Europe and a more inclusive labor market.

Tiny Villages can be described as villages of specially designed mini-villas with some communal buildings. The houses should be easy to place on non-permanent land, preferably close to nature. The project will bring together private landowners, small house builders and infrastructure providers. It is supported by the ERDF.

- "This is an exciting project that can contribute to the county's attractiveness and meet the needs for labor and housing. It is a new form of housing that particularly appeals to young people, and which could be relatively quick to get in place compared to building apartment buildings," says regional councilor Anders Öberg (S), member of the structural fund partnership for Upper Norrland, which made the decision on the ERDF and ESF+ projects.

Tiny Villages can attract young people to an adventure in Norrbotten and help provide new residents with a social context.

More students will stay in the county

Another ERDF project is C4SS - Competence for smart specialization. It is about getting more students at Luleå University of Technology to stay in the county after graduation. The project will strengthen collaboration between university students and the business community and in this way get more people to work in the region after graduation.

- "Today we have an alarming skills shortage that is a major obstacle to growth. At the same time, there are students at LTU with exactly the skills we need. We need to create stronger ties between the students and the county outside the campus," says Helena Ölund (S), chair of the regional development committee.

More projects related to the development of cultural and creative industries will benefit from EU funds. One of them is North Creative Nodes, which aims to strengthen growth and sustainable development in these industries.

The ERDF projects also include four feasibility studies on developing Kalix Port with a new quay. The new planned quay would double the port's capacity. It is needed to meet the business community's need for increased maritime transport.

Cultural school teachers for small municipalities

ESF+ funds two projects aimed at helping young people living in exclusion to study or work. A third project, NOVA K, aims to address the shortage of cultural school teachers. The project will develop forms for joint employment of teachers for cultural schools. The goal is to make it possible for young people in smaller inland municipalities to also take part in cultural schools.

In addition, a number of projects with partners in Norrbotten have been granted EU funding through Interreg Aurora. The fund distributes funds to a number of projects aimed at strengthening cooperation between the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Net fishing in the Torne River is a cultural heritage that also creates local growth.

One of them is the Torne Valley Dipnet project, which aims to preserve the centuries-old cultural heritage of net fishing for future generations. This in turn can help keep the rural areas of the Torne Valley, on both sides of the border, viable.

- The hake fishing tradition is an internationally renowned cultural heritage. Securing it for the future also means strengthening sustainable tourism, especially cultural heritage tourism, says Helena Ölund.

The decision on which ERDF and ESF+ projects are prioritized was taken by the Structural Funds Partnership for Upper Norrland. The decisions on Interreg Aurora were taken by a steering committee in Bodö, Norway.

FACTS: These are the Structural Fund partnerships

The Structural Fund partnerships are intended to facilitate common priorities between regional development policy, labour market policy and EU cohesion policy.

The partnership gives priority to applications for the European Regional Development Fund programme and the European Social Fund programme. The Övre Norrland Structural Fund partnership covers the counties of Norrbotten and Västerbotten.

The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth and Development and the Swedish ESF Council make the formal decisions for each project.

Contact

Helena Ölund (S)
Chairman of the Regional Development Committee
Tel: 070-3286148
helena.olund@norrbotten.se

Monica Lion
Head of Unit Business and Society
Tel: 070-387 37 52
monica.lejon@norrbotten.se

Documents

ERDF Decision (pdf)
Decision ESF+ (pdf)
Decision Interreg Aurora (pdf)
Additional projects granted EU funding through Interreg Aurora (external link)