It will be necessary for each project to be supported by a fully documented Business Plan, or a project proposal providing a similar level of information. The Business Plan will need to show that without the assistance the project would not go ahead, would go ahead on a significantly reduced scale, or in the case of projects already started would cease. The idea behind LETS is to overcome the absence of finance and credit by encouraging people and organizations to trade skills, services and goods without needing to use the cash economy. The system works by developing a local directory of skills, a unit of exchange and a system of debiting and crediting the number of units in an account.
LETS are community owned and help stimulate the local economy.
This Project would build on existing LETS development work and would be targeting individual neighbourhoods within the Priority 6 area. This has resulted in the loss of self- esteem in these communities and, in some instances, a dependency culture. LETS is a mechanism for overcoming these barriers and provides one approach in assisting regeneration. The success of LETS has been proved as it is running in largely one area of Bradford's inner city for the past 2 years. It provides a framework by which the community can meet its economic needs and is particularly appropriate in areas of high unemployment where residents feel disenfranchised from the conventional economic system.