Insider Media Limited

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce is urging businesses to “identify their business support priorities” so they can pull together bids for a share of the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund.

The government-funded regeneration cashpot will be distributed to organisations across the country over the next three years.

An online survey has been launched by the chamber to give firms the chance to have their say on which issues the cash from successful funding bids should be used to address.

The aim of the fund is to provide financial support to initiatives which increase investment, jobs and growth in their area.

Bidding for the first round of cash from the fund is now open and organisations have until 28 January 2011 to get their applications in.

Of the firms taking part in the chamber’s survey so far, about 63 per cent of businesses have cited business support and advice as their top priority, with 48 per cent seeking skills assistance and 41 per cent believing funding should be spent on encouraging enterprise.

Chamber chief executive George Cowcher said: “The government’s focus on cutting the deficit over the course of this Parliament means that future funding for business support is likely to be extremely scarce, so it’s important that we bid for our share of this cash before it is allocated to other areas of the UK.

“Regional Growth Fund cash will only be allocated to projects which are genuinely business-led, so it is vital that local firms and their public sector partners act quickly to develop and submit their bids for funding.”