East Lancs in £7m bid for jobs growth

REGENERATE Pennine Lancashire has submitted a £7m bid to the Regional Growth Fund.

The economic development company wants to use the cash to finance business growth in East Lancashire.

It said its Accelerating Business Growth PLUS scheme will offer loans of between £150,000 and £1m, and pull in £30m of private sector investment.

Dennis Mendoros, chair of Regenerate Pennine Lancashire, said: “We have been working with local businesses to develop the bid which offers the financial support for them to grow. This programme builds on our successful RGF round two bid which offers financial support up to £150,000 to SMEs. If we are successful, Regenerate will have a package of support for all types of businesses across Lancashire.”

Kate Hollern, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “It’s critical that the government approves this bid if it is serious about rebalancing the economy and making steps towards closing the North/South divide.

“We have companies who want to expand but aren’t able to access the finance they need because of the banking crisis. This programme will create the jobs and apprenticeships our residents need at a time when public money is being cut and organisations are being forced to make redundancies.”