Partner Article

Gloucestershire LEP pleased with Growing Places increase

Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership expects to be handed an extra £2m through the Government’s Growing Places Fund.

Following the Chancellor’s announcement of an extra £270m for the Growing Places Fund in Wednesday’s Budget, the LEP’s share is set to increase.

Diane Savory, Chair of Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The extra money is great news for us. Gloucestershire had already received £5.7million to kick-start stalled infrastructure projects from this fund and this additional money will make a real difference by creating much-needed jobs and driving business growth in the county.

“We are currently looking at potential sites where we could use this money to generate economic activity and we will be ensuring that the projects selected will be able to pay back the funds invested so they can be re-utilised to enable future developments and help Gloucestershire’s economy grow.”

£70m of the £270m announced by George Osborne has been allocated to London, and the Government says the remainder will be allocated to local enterprise partnerships.

The original bid was driven by the LEPs business-led Construction and Infrastructure Sector Group, in partnership with Gloucestershire County Council, the Homes and Communities Agency, the local authorities and the private sector.

Councillor Mark Hawthorne, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: “I’m delighted to see that Gloucestershire’s share of the Growing Places Fund has increased.

“Working together we can ensure that this money helps us to drive growth, create much-needed jobs and really make the most of our county’s economic potential.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .