SOMERSET NEWS: £25m windfall for key projects

SOMERSET will benefit from more than £25m of Government funding for five key projects to boost employment and economic growth.

A Growth Deal funding announcement on Thursday (February 23, 2017) from Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy allocated £43.5m to the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSW LEP), in which Somerset County Council is a key partner.

It means £25.7m of support for the following projects in Somerset as well as others that benefit the LEP area as a whole.

·      Somerset Energy Innovation Centre phase 3 in Bridgwater - £2.87m to develop a further 2,000 sqm of office, meeting and collaborative space for local businesses.

·      Connecting Devon and Somerset Phase 2 - £8m to deliver superfast broadband to more properties to increase coverage to 100 per cent by 2020.

·      iAero project in Yeovil - £4m to construct an aerospace innovation and collaboration space to support business growth and create higher level jobs.

·      Toneway Corridor capacity improvements (Phase 1 Creech Castle) in Taunton - £6.7m to make enhancements to the road between the M5 and Taunton town centre to support growth in the town.

·      Huntspill Energy Park in Bridgwater - £4.12m to open up a 91 hectare enterprise zone with new highway link and roundabout to support business growth, potentially including the Hinkley supply chain.

The county council’s spokesman for business, inwards investment and policy, Cllr David Hall, said: “It is extremely positive and encouraging that we have secured this funding to support economic growth in key areas in the county.

“A prospering local economy is vital to Somerset’s future and all of these projects will open up opportunities for growth, employment and more investment.

“We have a strong economy and it’s important that as a County Council we play our part in looking ahead and making sure it goes from strength to strength.”

Somerset’s £25.7m is part of a £43.57m package for the HotSW LEP area. Together with match-funding of £115.92 from the public and private sector it means new investment totalling £159.49 million.

Cllr David Fothergill, the county council’s spokesman for highways, added: “Investment in our roads is absolutely essential to enable local businesses to grow and be successful. I am thrilled that we have been able to secure the funding to enhance the road infrastructure to improve access to Taunton and unlock the Huntspill Energy Park in Bridgwater. Better infrastructure equals more growth for our economy.”

This announcement follows on from the successful Growth Deal rounds 1 and 2 which previously secured £195.5m of Government investment from for the HotSW LEP area.

Chairman of the Heart of the South West LEP, Steve Hindley, said: “We can and will deliver transformational growth in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay – with the right level of backing from government to create the right conditions and remove the barriers to poor productivity, including improved connectivity and investment in skills.

“This latest round of Growth Deal funding helps us to achieve the step change that we aspire to, and we look forward to putting these ten new schemes into place that will help us raise productivity for the area and generate rewarding careers for the people of the Heart of the South West.”

The Growth Deal bid can be viewed in full here: http://heartofswlep.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GrowthDealBidLoREes_0.pdf  .