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Growing Gloucestershire - new bid for Growth Deal funding
Aiming to continue growing the economy of Gloucestershire, GFirst LEP has submitted a bid to Government for further funding through the Growth Deal programme.
2 August 2016
Aiming to continue growing the economy of Gloucestershire, GFirst LEP has submitted a bid to Government for further funding through the Growth Deal programme.
As the only Local Enterprise Partnership to receive all the money requested in the first round of funding, there are high hopes that Government will continue to invest in Gloucestershire.
The submission focuses on priorities in four clusters: Business and Innovation, Regeneration, Housing and Skills, and aims to continue on progress already made. The projects included hope to deliver projects that meet a range of local and Government priorities including: national cyber security; unlocking land for housing and employment use; extending skills and Apprenticeships provision to support key industries; innovation; regeneration and transport improvements.
Chief Executive David Owen said: “Our submission to Government is very strong – we’ve consulted with local businesses and local authority colleagues to ensure that our bid is robust, and relevant to the county and its economic needs. We have a very effective track record of project delivery in Gloucestershire and we are in the top four Local Enterprise Partnerships in England for the delivery of current Growth Deals. Growth Deal funding is allocated in a competitive process between all 39 LEPs in England, but we hope that our bid is strong enough to stand out nationally.”
In March 2014, GFirst LEP published its Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) for Gloucestershire, which set out an ambitious business plan for achieving economic growth, and strategies for delivering a focused programme of projects across the county. The SEP was overwhelmingly endorsed by Government, with £77.5 million invested in Gloucestershire over the next five years through the Growth Deal.
