Humber’s £113m Growth Deal signed and sealed
THE Humber Growth Deal 2015, which will see millions of pounds of investment being pumped into the East Yorkshire economy, has been officially signed.
Greg Clark, Minister of State for Universities, Science and Cities, Humber LEP chairman Lord Haskins, joined representatives of the four Humber local authorities to sign off the £113.6m allocated to help grow the Humber economy.
The first round of Growth Deal funding for investment in the Humber was announced in July 2014 with a further £9.9m announced last month.
A further £21.2m of new funding is confirmed for 2015/16 and £64.15m for 2016/17 to 2021.
The Government’s contribution will bring forward at least £270m from other sources, creating an investment package of £383.6m for projects in the Humber LEP area.
By 2021, it is expected that this deal will create at least 7,200 jobs and allow at least 3,100 homes to be built.
The deal provides an additional £4m allocated to help small and medium enterprises in the four Humber local authorities by offering grants to help them develop their operations through the Growing the Humber programme.
Rofin Sinar in Hessle has benefited from the programme and is building a new factory to expand its high-tech laser business, and The BioD company in Hull, is adding a new production line to their business producing environmentally friendly cleaning products.
Lord Haskins said: “Signing today’s Growth Deal gives us the green light to invite small and medium sized businesses, which are the life blood of local economies, to apply for grant funding. Our current scheme has been a remarkable success, so I am very pleased that we are able to continue it with support from the Local Growth Fund.
“Growth Deals are a major step forward in handing power and funding back to local areas. Signing the Growth Deal marks an important milestone towards building a stronger Humber economy with better transport, more housing and a major boost for jobs.”
