The local economy will be supported by an additional £21.1 million worth of investment next year thanks to the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

On Monday 7^th July 2014, Government revealed the first allocations from their national Growth Pot, which will provide £2 billion of funding per year until 2020/2021 to a wide range of projects across the country, including those submitted via the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan.

The LEP has worked closely with partners to ensure that the £21.1 million unlocks a further £14.5 million from the private sector, £11 million of public funding and £41 million from future Growth Deals. Totalling £87.5 million of additional committed investment for our local area between 2015 and 2021.

Mark Reeve, Chairman of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership, said: “All bar one of our top Growth Deal priorities have received funding, securing £21.1 million worth of investment from Government for our local area for the next financial year. This is good news for local businesses because it enables us to tackle some of the key issues holding back their growth.

“We are disappointed that Government did not decide to invest further in our area at this time given our strong track record for delivery and the fact that we are a key engine of growth for the UK. Only last month, Centre for Cities Small Business Outlook named Cambridge as the city with the largest number of small businesses investing in ‘high-growth’ strategies, and Peterborough as the city that creates the largest number of jobs per expanding SME, proving that we are ready to grow further.”

The investment will help to deliver over 3,000 new jobs and unlock land for more than 4,000 new homes to be built. The successful projects span the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough area as follows:

• Cambridge Biomedical Innovation Centre – the creation of a new innovation centre to provide business space for small firms at the growing Cambridge Biomedical Campus next to Addenbrooke’s Hospital
• Haverhill Innovation Centre – the development of a new centre at Haverhill Research Park to support business growth in the ICT, Bio-Tech and Agri-Tech sectors
• New facilities for The Welding Institute (TWI) at Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus – expanding TWI’s operation onto the Enterprise Zone to bring more high-skilled jobs, support the growth of businesses in high-tech sectors and act as a catalyst for further growth on the site
• Food Manufacturing and Processing Centre of Excellence at Peterborough Regional College – creation of a specialist food manufacturing education resource to train local people who wish to work in the industry
• Technical & Vocational Centre at Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus – developing a new Centre with a focus on the built environment and engineering technical expertise to support the development of the Enterprise Campus and sites across the whole LEP area
• Agri-Tech Growth Initiative – a further £1.55 million of investment into this popular fund to support the growth of Agri-Tech businesses across the LEP area
• Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough – investment in Phase Two of the upgrading of the busy Bourges Boulevard
• A47 Junction 20 improvements, Peterborough – work to improve this key interchange to the north-east of Peterborough
• King’s Dyke level crossing – improving access to Whittlesey by replacing the King’s Dyke level crossing to allow for major increases in rail use and reduce waiting times for motorists at the crossing
• Wisbech Access Study – funding to undertake a detailed study into the transport improvements required to support the growth of Wisbech
• Growth Hub – a new approach to business support designed to make it easier for businesses across the LEP area to access the advice and funding they need to grow. The investment will be used to provide both virtual support and face to face support

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