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Heart of the South West Partnership awarded additional Growing Places funding

The Heart of the South West (HotSW) Local Enterprise Partnership has been awarded an extra £7million through the Growing Places Fund to help boost economic growth in the area.

Last month it was announced that £14,510,481 million had been awarded to HotSW, the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay by the Government.

But the area now expects to receive an extra £7million after the Chancellor announced an extra £270m nationally for the Growing Places Fund in Wednesday’s Budget.

Tim Jones, Chair of HotSW said: “This extra money is great news for the area and will make a real difference – it will help kick start many projects that have stalled infrastructure to finally get off the ground.

“We’d also like to remind people that the closing date for applications for the first phase of funding is fast approaching – 31st March – so it’s important that people apply now.”

The Growing Places Fund is a new funding initiative available to unlock stalled projects throughout the area: it is designed to distribute to capital projects and developments that are ready to commence, but have been postponed for financial reasons.

The fund aims to boost economic growth by getting delayed schemes moving again with the necessary support to enable the creation of new homes and jobs.

The initiative is part of a national £500million Growing Places fund announced by Ministers, aimed at helping communities whose ambitions for economic growth have been halted.

To bid for funding, applicants must complete a formal application which is available from the HotSW website www.heartofswlep.co.uk

In the main, it is anticipated that applicants will repay the fund in the long term, so the funds can be revolved and invested into different future projects.

As the programme progresses, a full list of successful projects will be published on the website. A second phase of funding will be available over the next few months.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

For more information, contact Liz Waugh or Julie Everett at Coast Communications on 01752 847135 / 07966 388921

Heart of the South West

The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has been formed under the leadership of the private sector supported by the local authorities from Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay and the area’s District Councils. It is one of 39 partnerships created since the Government’s Local Growth White Paper published in October 2010.  More information about the work of the LEP is available from the website www.heartofswlep.co.uk.

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      David Ralph

      Chief Executive

      David Ralph started as Chief Executive of Heart of South West LEP at the beginning of June 2018. Previously, he had spent 5 years as CEO of the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire (D2N2) LEP from 2013 where he oversaw the development of the D2N2 Strategic Economic Plan and sector strategies, 3 Growth Deals with HM Government to deliver a £1billion capital investment programme, securing and implementing £200m ESIF programme, the Derby and Nottingham Enterprise Zone, the D2N2 Skills Deal and Time for Innovation programme, community fund and led the executive team to develop the HS2 East Midlands hub. He was also closely involved in the proposed North Midlands Devolution Deal and one of the key architects in establishing the Midlands Engine, chairing the officer steering group. Whilst in this role David was a NED of the Nottingham Enterprise Zone, and Marketing NG, the Outer Estates Foundation and a Governor of Nottingham College and on the advisory Board of Nottingham Business School.

      Before the East Midlands, David was CEO of the Have Gateway Partnership working closely with local stakeholders including the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich and BT Adadastral Park across Suffolk and Essex and prior to that was Chief Exec of the Barton Hill New Deal for Communities programme in Bristol and the Nelm Development Trust in Norwich.

      David is a keen sailor, walker and trail runner.