MIGRANT workers are to receive ‘welcome packs’ in a bid to make them feel more at home in Bournemouth and Poole.

They will also have access to English language training, cultural orientation sessions and a buddy scheme as part of a newly announced £480,000 government funded package.

Dorset Race Equality Council workers will be tasked to deliver the Bournemouth and Poole migrant support project, aimed at increasing community cohesion across the towns.

Welcoming news of the successful bid by Bournemouth and Poole local strategic partnerships, Debbie Clifton, Bournemouth 2026 development manager, said the project would “help the two towns to gain awareness of the needs of migrants”.

In its application for grant aid, the LSPs highlighted local and national research showing how large numbers of eastern European migrants had decided to set up home in Bournemouth and Poole.

The mass arrival had put pressure on existing services and made a significant impact on employment, particularly in the manufacturing, tourism and care sectors.

“The transient nature of the migrant population causes difficulty in planning service provision and reacting to high numbers, and leads to resentment within the local community, which threatens the harmonious integration of local people and migrants.”

A total of 169 rate-hate crimes were reported in 2008/2009. The project’s success will be partly measured by migrant workers’ confidence to report incidents.

By March 2011 it is hoped that 81.9 per cent of local people (currently 79.2 per cent) will believe that those from different backgrounds get on well together in their area.

The project also aims at reducing the number of road accidents, involving migrant drivers.