Deputy Prime Minister visits GFirst LEP to sign 62.5 million Growth Deal Agreement

Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg visited GFirst LEP today to formally sign the Growth Deal for Gloucestershire; an agreement with the Government which will see £62.5 million invested in Gloucestershire.

Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg visited GFirst LEP today to formally sign the Growth Deal for Gloucestershire; an agreement with the Government which will see £62.5 million invested in Gloucestershire.

Mr Clegg met with Dr Diane Savory OBE DL, Chair of GFirst LEP, alongside Chief Executive David Owen and Board Members Roman Cooper, Adam Starkey and Councillor Mark Hawthorne, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council.

The Growth Deal will help to create up to 5000 jobs and generate up to £40 million in public and private investment for Gloucestershire.

GFirst LEP has worked in partnership with the private, public and voluntary sectors to present the best possible case for investment in the county, which was rewarded by Government with Gloucestershire being the only LEP to receive the full funding requested  in its business plan for the county.

The Gloucestershire Growth Deal will deliver a range of exciting projects, including the services of the newly opened Growth Hub at the University of Gloucestershire’s Oxstalls Campus in Gloucester being available countywide through Growth Hub spokes, the GREEN project at the former nuclear research facility, The Berkeley Centre, further development of the Growth Zone on the M5 corridor, and delivery of some key transport projects across Gloucestershire.

The Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg said:

“I’m delighted to be finalising this historic deal bringing real change across Gloucestershire. This significant Growth Deal will enable a whole host of jobs to be created, boost local business by supporting them to upskill their staff and transform transport networks. All of this is a major boost to the economy in Gloucestershire.

“Growth Deals are about local areas leading their own growth, giving more power to people in the regions so we work together to build a strong economy and a fairer society.”

Dr Diane Savory OBE DL, Chair of GFirst LEP said:

“We were delighted to welcome Nick Clegg today to sign the Growth Deal. This significant funding will give Gloucestershire a real boost and enable us to get started on the implementation of many important projects.

Our Growth Deal has been signed today in The Growth Hub, one of the projects that will see the benefits of the Growth Deal in the near future; delivering countywide spokes of The Growth Hub, enabling businesses to access support services across Gloucestershire.”

Gloucestershire will also benefit hugely from the construction of the centre of excellence in Renewable Energy, Engineering & Nuclear skills (GREEN); a partnership between GFirst LEP and South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. We look forward to GREEN becoming a world-class centre of excellence for STEM training, providing the skills needed for the expected demand in nuclear energy.”

David Owen, Chief Executive of GFirst LEP, added: “It’s great to see that Government have shown their confidence in the economic ambition of Gloucestershire by awarding GFirst LEP the full amount of funding requested. Our Growth Deal award of £62.5 million will benefit the whole county and we’ll continue to work closely with our partners on future bids to ensure they are equally successful.”

Councillor Mark Hawthorne, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council and GFirst LEP Board Member commented:

 “The Growth Deal for Gloucestershire is fantastic news, and demonstrates the hard work between the public and private sector. Seeing the projects develop from 2015 onwards will be very rewarding for all partners involved.”

The Gloucestershire Growth Deal is part of a £12 billion long-term Government programme to revitalise local economies. As part of the Government’s on-going commitment to LEPs, it confirmed in the Autumn Statement that there will be further funding from 2016/17 onwards.  For more information about GFirst LEP and the Growth Deal, please visit this page.