Liverpool City Region bids for Growth Fund cash

THE Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership has submitted its Local Growth Plan in a bid to win a “significant chunk” of the government’s £2bn Local Growth Fund.
 
The LEP’s plan outlines how it will unlock the region’s potential with the long-term goal of achieving economic growth and job creation.
 
It is themed around projects including: Liverpool City Region Freight and Logistics Hub; Liverpool city centre;  Access to the Port of Liverpool;  Liverpool City Region Low Carbon Region; and A City Region Capital Investment Fund to co-invest in key capital schemes that will deliver jobs.
 
Robert Hough, Liverpool City Region LEP chair, said: “Both the public and private sectors have identified what investment is needed in the City Region to accelerate economic growth and create new jobs, so this Growth Plan outlines our shared vision.
 
“Our City Region is big enough to be recognised as a world player. We are making good progress but we must accelerate our rate of growth.

“The projects identified in the Plan are crucial to the City Region’s continued success especially the potential of the city centre, the development of a Freight and Logistics Hub for the city region, and our ambitions to be a key centre for Low Carbon Energy generation and development.”
 
He added: “We want government to back this city region because we have a history of delivering and now have the ambition to play a more prominent role in driving national prosperity.”
 
The Local Growth Plan will inform how government decides to allocate the £2bn Local Growth Fund between the 39 LEP areas in the country.
 
The LEP’s Local Growth Plan is expected to be announced later this year, with investment beginning in 2015.
 
Local Growth Plan documents can be downloaded at http://www.liverpoollep.org/about_lep/key_documents.aspxwww.liverpoolLep.org