Chairman of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership, Mark Reeve, was due to make the announcement in his keynote address to the assembled audience of over 130 local leaders from the public, private and third sectors at the Marriott Hotel in Huntingdon as a part of the LEP Summit.
Mark Reeve, Chairman of the LEP, explains: “Investing in economic growth is an important part of the work we do here at the LEP. Today we have announced £5 million of funding for businesses and local authorities within our local area to help unlock jobs and accelerate economic growth. We are able to launch this £5 million call for projects following on from a successful first round of projects that have repaid their loans. In 2013, we provided £16.1 million of Growing Places Funding to a range of different projects to unlock their growth potential, with £5 million being paid back already proving that this type of funding works.”
To date the Growing Places Fund has helped to lever in a further £26 million of private and public funding and will unlock a total of 12,500 new jobs in the LEP area.
Projects supported by the first round of funding included Haverhill Research Park, The Future Business Centre in Cambridge, Fenland Horticulture and Land based Skills centre near Wisbech, Oakham Enterprise Park and improvements to Fletton Parkway in Peterborough.
Nic Rumsey, Director of Carisbrooke Developments whose Haverhill Research Park scheme benefited from the first round of funding, said: “Growing Places Funding allowed us to complete a key element of infrastructure – the main entrance road – earlier than would have otherwise been possible. We couldn’t have got this far without the foresight and willingness of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP and NewAnglia LEP to back us and we will now be moving ahead with the marketing of the park as a whole.”
Dr Martin Clark, Deputy Chief Executive of Future Business, another recipient of Round One Growing Places Funding, said: “To turn our vision for the Future Business Centre into reality we worked with a range of partners to get the funding we need in place. Growing Places Funding was an important part of this equation, helping us to lever in additional funds and make this vision become a reality. We already have over 60% of the space let, have a steady stream of enquiries for the remaining space and meeting rooms, and are excited about the future.”
Michael Barnes, Programme Manager for Growing Places Funding, added: “The funding is available for creative and innovative approaches in the use of funding to support projects that will unlock jobs and accelerate economic growth within the LEP area. We have already seen what a difference additional loan financing can make to projects within our area, and we are therefore keen to encourage organisations to think about how a loan from the Growing Places Fund could help them to achieve their ambitions.”
The Growing Places Fund offers loan finance, with a minimum bid value of £100,000. It is targeted primarily at projects which can payback in less than three years, although longer payback periods may be considered. The LEP will consider a wide range of projects, including:
◾Facilitating drivers of growth e.g. through loans for SMEs to start up and grow
◾Construction of new office, training and general employment space
◾Access works to unlock commercial or mixed-used developments
◾Site servicing to support the creation of new employment space
The official call for projects launches on 24th January 2014, with a deadline for expression of interest applications by 7th March 2014.
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