Member Article

Five city region projects allocated share of £21m EU funding by Liverpool LEP

Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has revealed that up to £21m worth of European Regional Development Funds is now up for grabs as part of the wider €221million European Structural & Investment Funds (ESIF) Programme.

Five new projects within the region are due to benefit from the investment cash, which are specially selected by the LEP to help drive sustainable economic growth and create new jobs in the area.

A joint £15m Sensor City project between John Moores University and the University of Liverpool will be one of the first to benefit from this new funding to the tune of £5m.

The project aims to create the world’s first innovation centre dedicated to sensor technology with a new facility within the Copperas Hill redevelopment zone that will bring together over 300 local SMEs and big business to help commercialise local knowledge and assets in the area.

Also receiving funding is the Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory programme, another joint project involving John Moores University, the University of Liverpool as well as Lancaster University, which focuses on developing innovative low carbon goods, processes and services through collaborative partnerships with local companies.

Phil Davies, Co-Chair of the ESIF Committee and leader of Wirral Council, welcomed the new tranche of funding and the manner in which it harnesses the region’s ‘entrepreneurial zeal’.

He said: “Playing to our strengths is a vital component of our economic development plan and these projects make the most of the entrepreneurial zeal and sector speciality we have at our disposal.

“Creating new jobs and helping local businesses to be the best they can is our central aim. These projects will, we’re sure, be successful on many fronts and help the City Region thrive.”

Co-Chair of the ESIF Committee and Chair of the Liverpool City Region LEP, Robert Hough, added: “The LEP, with partners, have identified and set out a number of priorities for the EU Programme to ensure that our economy gets the biggest boost possible from this investment, and I believe these diverse and important projects are the first step in doing just that.”

“This EU Programme is a major contribution in the LEP’s support for jobs, productivity and skills in our drive to make the City Region one of the country’s most enterprising economies and position us centrally within the Northern Powerhouse agenda.”

EDRF funding opportunities are still available, with applications sought in Innovation (in the Creative Content and Digital Capabilities Sector) and in Business Support (Access to Finance) by 6 June.

The LEP also has an open call for projects in the Low Carbon Sector running to 31 October, with a first review point on 6 June.