North West submits most bids for RGF money
THE North West submitted more bids to the first round of the Government’s £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund than any other region, according to new figures from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The fund, which was set up to mitigate the impact of the closure of the regional development agencies, received a total of 468 bids nationally requesting almost £2.8bn – double the total amount it has in its coffers.
Moreover, the funding is only being released in tranches over a three-year period and it is believed that just £250m-£300m is available for first round bids, although the application process for a second round is due to be announced soon.
The North West region submitted 89 bids for funding – or 19% of the total. Some 32 of these came from the Liverpool city-region and 24 came from Greater Manchester. A further 11 bids came from Cheshire and Warrington, while seven came from Cumbria.
The bulk of the bids submitted nationally (69%) requested sums of between £1m–£5m. Some 17% of bidders requested sums of between £5m-£10m, while 4% requested sums in excess of £25m.
Locally, the Association of Greater Manchester Authorties (AGMA) is understood to have co-ordinated bids within the its ten local authority areas, although each local bid had its own private sector partner.
AGMA is understood to have requested funds totalling £50m for projects such as Hatton Gardens in Stockport, Ashton Moss in Tameside, Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale (pictured), Port Salford and Manchester’s Royal Eye Hospital.
