LEP WELCOMES ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR GROWTH
News release
3rd April 2012
Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), has welcomed the news that the region is to get an extra £3m to boost economic growth.
The additional funding from the Growing Places Fund is part of a package of £270m announced by the Chancellor in his Budget on Wednesday (28thMarch) and will be used to kick start development and boost employment and housing growth that delivers in the short term.
The aim of the Fund in Greater Lincolnshire is to get stalled sites moving again by investing in and unlocking infrastructure such as utilities, broadband and highway improvements.
It means Greater Lincolnshire’s allocation from the Growing Places Fund has risen to £9m from the £6m announced in January 2012.
“This new funding is further good news for Greater Lincolnshire as it will allow us to work with a bigger fund,” said Miss Lidbetter, who is also Chief Executive of the Lincolnshire Co-operative.
“Because the scheme is an evergreen fund, it is only available to front-fund infrastructure with payment from the developer being returned into the pot for future investment. The fund will work better for Greater Lincolnshire, the larger it is,” said Miss Lidbetter.
She was speaking at the annual Lincolnshire Property and Business Investment Show at the EPIC Centre near Lincoln on Wednesday (28th March), where she identified superfast broadband as “absolutely vital” for the future prosperity of Lincolnshire.
Giving an update to business leaders on the progress of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP to date, she said the region’s rural economy made faster online communication a top priority.
“Investment in broadband is absolutely vital for our county,” she said. “We have a very rural economy and we’re not going to have dual carriageways across the county, so we need that communication.”
The Greater Lincolnshire LEP was set up in 2010 following the demise of the regional development agency EMDA. One of its priorities is to lobby for and support the growth of vital infrastructure such as transport links and broadband.
Notes to editors
The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership is a new body led by the private sector which aims to improve conditions for infrastructure and doing business in the Greater Lincolnshire area.
One of the first LEPs to be established in theUK, the Greater Lincolnshire LEP covers a large geographical area with a population of over one million and a diverse range of industries, from ports and logistics to farming, tourism and engineering.
It includes North and North-East Lincolnshire and is controlled by a LEP board made up of leading figures in the public and private sector.
For more information on the Growing Places Fund or enquires, please contact Ruth Carver or Carolyn Tuscher, LEP Secretariat on 01522 550515.
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
jez@shootingstar-pr.co.uk
www.shootingstar-pr.co.uk
t: @jezashberry
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