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.â€
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.
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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.