Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid has announced a government cash boost of £43.57 million to the Heart of the South West (HotSW) LEP to help create jobs, support businesses and encourage growth.
The third round of the Heart of the South West Growth Deal, along with the match funding of £115.92 million from the public and private sector, means a total new investment of £159.49 million. This brings HotSW LEP’s total investment programme to £722.70 million.
The ten selected locally-chosen projects set to benefit over the next few years includes: Phase 3 of the Somerset Innovation Centre, the Connecting Devon and Somerset broadband and mobile expansion and an exciting regeneration project at Plymouth Station. These, alongside other projects, will improve educational attainment, create jobs, build homes or improve infrastructure.
This latest award of ‘Local Growth Funding’ is on top of £195.5 million of Growth Deals funding already awarded to The Heart of the South West. This total investment could see 26,270 jobs created, 16,360 homes built and attract £376 million extra investment over the next 5 years.
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said:
“As part of efforts to deliver an economy that works for everyone, the Government is equipping local people with the resources they need to drive forward local growth.
“That is why we’re giving £43.57 million of new money to Heart of the South West to give businesses the support and opportunities they need to achieve their potential – on top of the £195.5 million already awardedâ€.
Chair of the Heart of the South West LEP, Steve Hindley CBE DL, said:
“We can and will deliver transformational growth in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay – with the right level of backing from government to create the right conditions and remove the barriers to poor productivity, including improved connectivity and investment in skills.
“This latest round of Growth Deal funding helps us to achieve the step change that we aspire to, and we look forward to putting these ten new schemes into place that will help us raise productivity for the area and generate rewarding careers for the people of the Heart of the South West.â€
Devon County Council’s representative and Board Member for the HotSW LEP, Cllr Andrew Leadbetter, said:
“I am delighted that this funding will be coming to the South West and that it will be used to progress a range of really worthwhile projects that will benefit the economy of the region, particularly those positively impacting on Devon. There is, of course, a finite amount of money in the Government’s purse, and therefore I believe that we have done rather well in attracting this level of funding.â€
Leader of Plymouth City Council, Councillor Ian Bowyer said:
“This is fantastic news and a real place changer. This Growth Deal funding will act as a catalyst to the regeneration of the station and will lever in significant inward investment.
“Plymouth railway station is the busiest south west of Bristol. Currently 2.5 million journeys start or finish here and is a number set to grow. When people arrive here by rail, their first view is a 1960s multi-storey car park and a very dated and tired impression of the city.
“We want to change this and to overhaul the railway station completely. This project will provide a new gateway and the station will be designed so that the first image of the city will be of the view along Armada Way towards the sea and Smeaton’s Tower.
“Working with our partners, this project will redevelop the station and the wider area, provide a new and increased capacity car park, improved public realm and enhanced retail offers at the station itself.“
Somerset Council Cabinet Member for Business and Inward Investment, Cllr David Hall, said:
“This settlement is good for the region and good for Somerset. It paves the way for major infrastructure and innovation schemes that will be vital to the county’s future prosperity and growth
“The settlement we have had is a testament to the hard work of the LEP, its partners and local MPs who have helped make a strong case for these important forward-thinking projects.â€
Elected Mayor of Torbay, Gordon Oliver, said:
“The announcement of this funding is great news and means Torbay can take another step towards supporting the growth of our local hi-tech cluster. This also means our young people will now have the opportunity to receive a high level of technical skills and qualifications without having to move away from the Bay to study.â€
Bids are highly competitive and to be successful, LEPs need to work with partners to agree strong and accountable governance and put forward proposals that boost growth and bring in private sector funding.
This round of the Growth Deal brings the total value of the three Growth Deals awarded to the Heart of the South West to £597.69 million to invest in projects that benefit the local area and economy.
It secures £43.57 million from government; which, with additional investment of £115.92 million from local partners and the private sector, means a total of £159.49 million to be invested in projects to generate growth in the Heart of the South West area, which includes Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay. Over the lifetime of the Growth Deal – 2015 – 2021 – HotSW LEP estimates the investment will create up to 22,000 new jobs and 11,000 new homes. This means a total funding portfolio for HotSW LEP is now £723.70 million.
See tables below * and # for detailed breakdown of funding.
The ten projects were selected by the Strategic Investment Panel through consultation with the three Leadership Groups of People, Place and Business. Selection criteria prioritised projects with area wide benefits and strategic alignment with LEP aims: delivering: Productivity through smart specialisation; Strategic connectivity & sustainable transport and Unlocking & enabling growth potential.
| Selection criteria | Focus area | Project name | Project description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Productivity through smart specialisation | Somerset | Somerset Innovation Centre (Phase 3) | 2000 sqm of office, meeting and additional collaborative innovation work space |
| Strategic connectivity & sustainable transport | LEP-wide | Connecting Devon and Somerset Phase 3 and 4G Mobile Package | Superfast broadband targeting premises within the ‘final 5%’ not currently served or likely to get served via the private sector, over next 4 years. This will increase superfast coverage in the HotSW to 100% by 2020. Also 4G rollout to additional 10% coverage |
| Unlocking & enabling growth potential | Devon | Youth Construction Skills Project “Devon Communities Together” | Construction students and people from disadvantaged backgrounds gain experience through renovating properties which are purchased and resold at a profit and reinvested in future projects |
| Productivity through smart specialisation | Torbay | South Devon College Hi Tech Centre | High quality new build facility providing higher level tech skills, supporting a significant number of local businesses |
| Productivity through smart specialisation | Somerset | iAero (South) Centre | Construction of an aerospace innovation and collaboration space in Yeovil with machinery and equipment donated by Leonardo |
| Productivity through smart specialisation | LEP-wide | Next generation ICT training project “Blue Screen IT – PROJECT X” | Hub and spoke training for Cyber security, Big Data and Social Media |
| Strategic connectivity & sustainable transport | Devon | Houghton Barton Package | Link road between A382 and A383 to support new development at Houghton Barton, west of Newton Abbot |
| Strategic connectivity & sustainable transport | Somerset | Taunton Toneway Corridor Capacity Improvements (Phase 1 Creech Castle) | Junction capacity enhancement on major link between M5 and Taunton town centre to support urban extension at Monkton Heathfield |
| Productivity through smart specialisation | Somerset | Huntspill Energy Park | New highway link to major brown field employment site which has minded to grant consent for 91 hectares of mixed employment and energy generation uses |
| Strategic connectivity & sustainable transport | Plymouth | Plymouth Central Railway Station | Transformational redevelopment of station site to act as a key gateway for the city centre. Project will directly unlock mixed use development including residential and student accommodation and will support the growth of Plymouth University |
The first two Growth Deals have enabled HotSW LEP achieve progress towards its three themes:
- Productivity growth through science and innovation focused projects including those at the science parks at Exeter and Plymouth, funded under the first round of the Growth Deal.
- The £6m Growth Deal 2 investment to extend the Connecting Devon and Somerset Broadband programme; the largest broadband project in England in terms of premises and geographical coverage; contributes towards HotSW LEP’s aim to improve strategic connectivity and transport through targeted investments by providing the underpinning infrastructure needed for growth.
- The £6.51m Growth Deal 1 funded Hinkley Point Training Academy supports FE colleges to deliver skills training to enable local people to pursue rewarding careers and provide a skilled workforce to backfill jobs generated by increased labour market demands from the development of Hinkley Point C. This is part of HotSW LEP’s strategic aim to unlock and enable the growth potential of businesses by supporting projects that facilitate growth and productivity improvements.
A full list of signed funding agreements on the first two rounds of the Growth Deal is available here under the heading: Local Growth Fund.
Headline projects which were allocated funding in previous Growth Deals; of which some are pending final funding agreement sign off; can be found on the press releases for Growth Deal 1 and Growth Deal 2.
* Total Government investment in Heart of the South West as part of the Growth Deal programme:
| Growth Deal One (July 2014) | Growth Deal Two (Jan 2015) | Growth Deal Three (Nov 2016) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Growth Fund Award from Government | £130.3m | £65.2m | £43.57m |
| Total Local Growth Fund Award from Government | £239.07m | ||
# Total Heart of the South West Investment Programme:
| Government Award | EU Funds Contracted | Match Funding | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth Deal 1&2 | 195.50 | 242.70 | 438.20 | |
| Growth Deal 3 | 43.57 | 115.92 | 159.49 | |
| Total Growth Deal Funding | 239.07m | 358.62 | 597.69 | |
| Growing Places Fund | 21.55 | 48.40 | 70.95 | |
| European Structural & Investment Funds | 0.00 | 20.78 | 16.24 | 37.02 |
| Rural Growth Network Pilot | 2.90 | 15.14 | 18.04 | |
| 264.52 | 20.78 | 438.40 | 722.70 |
