East Mids in £50m infrastructure boost
The East Midlands will receive a £50m windfall from the government's Growing Places Fund, it has been confirmed. The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce welcomed the handout after being "largely ignored" in the distribution of the Regional Growth Fund.
The D2N2 LEP, which covers both counties, secured its expected £19.8m allocation. It was the largest amount handed out in the East Midlands, with the South East Midlands in second place having secured £12m.
Leicester and Leicestershire's organisation was given £9m, Lincolnshire £6.6m and Northamptonshire £3.9m.
The money will be spent on housing developments and infrastructure projects.
George Cowcher, chief executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "D2N2 has been granted one of the largest allocations in the UK, which is especially encouraging given that the two counties were largely ignored during the allocation of the first two rounds of Regional Growth Fund money.
"We are lucky to have a strong, dynamic and challenging Local Enterprise Partnership here in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and although no formal decisions have been taken on how this cash will be allocated, it will be used to fund high-quality strategic infrastructure projects with the potential to unlock further economic growth across the region."
D2N2 Chairman Colin Walton added: "We welcome the government's confirmation of D2N2’s allocation from the Growing Places Fund. It is a vote of confidence in D2N2 and gives us funding to help unlock investment in stalled employment sites."
Alongside the final Growing Places funding announcement, local authorities in England were also handed additional funding through the government's £432m New Homes Bonus scheme.
Leicester was the biggest winner in the region, receiving almost £3m of funding. Derby, Nottingham and Northampton all received between £1.3m and £1.9m.
Housing minister Grant Shapps said: "The Growing Places Fund will unlock further sites for development, creating new jobs in those areas, while the New Homes Bonus recognises the efforts that have been made over the last year to deliver thousands of new homes and bring empty properties back into use.
"I look forward to seeing how this significant investment will change the shape of communities across the country."
