Greater Birmingham and Black Country LEPs submit bids for £148m of government cash
LOCAL Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) representing the Greater Birmingham and Solihull and Black Country areas have submitted bids to the Government for funds to back major projects in the region.
The bids – when combined – are seeking £148m in government funding in 2015-16.
The Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) is seeking support for what it describes as a “mix of game-changing schemes and shovel-ready projects aimed at creating jobs and boosting the economy”.
The 51 priority projects outlined in the strategic economic plan (SEP) are worth a total of £440m over five years and the GBSLEP is asking for £86.3m for 2015/16.
Meanwhile, The Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (BCLEP) has bid for £56m from the Single Local Growth Fund and an additional £5.7m of its pre-allocated transport project funding for 2015-16.
The GBSLEP said its highlighted projects are forecast to create 41,000 new jobs by 2022, provide 14,315 new homes and nearly 2m sq ft of commercial floor space across the LEP area which covers Birmingham, Solihull, Wyre Forest, Redditch, Tamworth, Bromsgrove, East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Cannock Chase.
Included in the bid – which will be considered by ministers and form the basis for a Growth Deal set to be agreed in summer – are a number of schemes that will help Greater Birmingham to prepare for the arrival of HS2.
This includes the development of new stations at Birmingham Curzon and the Interchange and there is a package of transport measures to help the wider area access the new service.
The GBSLEP is also looking to set up a growth hub which would provide more than 15,000 businesses a year with access to a variety of support programmes.
Also included are projects for specific growth sectors in the LEP.
These include an advanced manufacturing hub in partnership with the Coventry & Warwickshire and Black Country LEPs and a life sciences campus at Selly Oak.
Steve Hollis, GBSLEP deputy chairman, said: “Our strategic economic plan looks to the future, setting out a bold plan that addresses the challenges and opportunities unique to our area.
“We know there is a strong consensus about the action that we need to take and we also know that Greater Birmingham is well positioned to deliver growth.
“This submission really presses our case to government – it is built on co-operation and an agreed strategy, underpinned by close collaboration between the public and private sectors.”
Meanwhile, the BCLEP is making the case for a Black Country Growth Deal to secure additional funding and decision making freedom to accelerate growth in high value manufacturing and specifically the aerospace, automotive and building technology sectors.
The Black Country strategic economic plan proposes a Growth Deal programme for 2015-16 to deliver 5,000 new jobs, 200 new private homes, 1,900 additional businesses helped to grow and 1,500 additional learners supported to develop skills needed by businesses
The LEP argues that the money its asking for (a total of £61.7m) will lever in an additional £41m from other public sector organisations and £102m from private sector investors, creating an investment of more than £200m for the Black Country.
Stewart Towe, chair of the BCLEP said: “The Black Country is uniquely placed to create new jobs in high value manufacturing. We have a strong manufacturing base, supply chain networks, businesses that export globally and a location at the heart of the UK transport network.
“We believe our Growth Deal gives us the flexibility to address the barriers limiting business growth, including under-investment in skills, accelerating businesses innovation, creating additional high quality employment sites, improving the housing mix and tackling traffic congestion.”
The bids from Greater Birmingham will be judged against those from other LEPs around the country as this a nationally competitive process. The Government will inform LEPs on the funding allocations in July.
