Government and D2N2 – the Local Enterprise Partnership for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – today agreed a £554.4m investment package to accelerate economic growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
The joint investment programme secures £174.4m from the Government’s Local Growth Fund over six years – with £47.4m of funding confirmed for 2015/16.
The substantial investment will unlock nearly £380m of additional funds from local partners and the private sector to make a combined package of £554.4m between now and 2021.
Following a review on local economic growth by Lord Heseltine, the Government created a £12billion ‘Local Growth Fund’, with £2billion being distributed in the first year (2015-2016). All 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships across the UK bid for a share of the fund, by developing plans to showcase how they would deliver growth.
Through its Strategic Economic Plan, D2N2 set out a clear and compelling ambition to rebalance the local economy through delivering 55,000 private sector jobs, a step change in skills and innovation-led business growth over the next 10 years.
That business case was submitted at the end of March and after a period of negotiation, the Government today (Monday, July 7) announced a Growth Deal which supports D2N2’s key priorities, builds on the area’s strengths by investing in major innovations in key sectors and moves the Local Enterprise Partnership from planning to action to deliver this ambition.
D2N2 and Central Government have agreed to co-invest in the following jointly-agreed priorities from 2015/16 (Government total committed funding)
- Infinity Park, Derby (£14.37m) – Developing this important employment site through site access and remediation including flood alleviation. This will support the competitiveness of local supply chain – through local sustainable transport measures. It will also improve access to the local labour market.
- Bioscience Expansion, Nottingham (£6.5m) – expansion of floor space next to Biocity to accommodate business growth and allow space for new start-ups.
- Nottingham Skills Hub (£30m) – project to integrate FE provision and employment opportunities across the city to meet the demands of business. It will provide a new College building in the heart of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter, with employment sites in communities, which will complement existing Work Programme, Youth Contract, Employer and Apprenticeship Hubs.
- Nottingham Broadmarsh / Southern Gateway (£10.3m) – transport strategy to allow expansion of the southern side of city centre, including transformation of Broadmarsh shopping centre and improved connection to station.
- Newark Southern Link Road (£7m) – a new single carriageway road linking the A1 and A46 on the south side of Newark, serving a major urban extension on south side of Newark.
- Chesterfield Centre for Higher Level Skills (£3.48m) – the new Centre for Higher Level skills will deliver a huge change in higher level skills opportunities and support the economic growth of businesses and the workforce in Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire.
- Vision University Centre, Mansfield (£2.61m) – The Vision University Centre will create a new teaching and learning space with state of the art facilities to support local people gain higher level vocational skills. Creating opportunities to access higher level skills locally will support increased progression among young people and ensure employers can access the higher level skills they need.
- Harworth Access Road (£1.1m) – junction improvements to enable employment and housing development at Harworth.
- D2N2 Sustainable Travel programme (£12.5m) – the Cycle City Ambition Package in Nottingham, the Connected and Cycle City and City Centre Place making projects in Derby.
- Our City Our River, Derby (£12m) -Strategic Flood Defence, complemented by a further Super Connectivity Cycle route.
Provisional allocation to projects starting in 2016/17 and beyond (amount of total Government funding):
- A61 Corridor, Chesterfield (£12.8m) – This project is the first phase of a longer term vision to support the A61 to unlocking development, reduce journey times to benefit new and existing travellers by both private and public transport in North Eastern Derbyshire and create new homes and jobs
- DfT Pipeline Nottingham Enterprise Zone (£6m) – The Nottingham Enterprise Zone is a top Growth Plan priority. An integrated sustainable transport package is proposed comprising Improved pedestrian routes; New bridge over railway; Upgraded bridge over canal; Upgraded cycle links; Bus infrastructure; Cycling facilities package; and Green infrastructure.
- Hucknall, Rolls Royce (£5.8m) – Mixed-use employment and housing development with associated community, educational, health facilities and green space bringing transformational economic change to the Hucknall and wider Nottinghamshire area.
- D2N2 Sustainable Travel programme (£5.8m) – Further projects to support sustainable travel across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Government also confirmed support to:
- D2N2 Growth Hub – Provide £525,000 funding towards a D2N2 Growth Hub to simplify business support and create a seamless customer experience for businesses
- Superfast Broadband – Provide flexibility for D2N2 to re-allocate underspends to enhance delivery of broadband projects to ensure superfast broadband is delivered
The funding package also includes the six major transport projects across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire approved by Government last summer.
The Prime Minister said: “Growth Deals are a crucial part of our long-term plan to secure Britain’s future.
“For too long our economy has been too London-focused and too centralised. Growth Deals will help change all that. They are about firing up our great towns and cities, boosting local economies and driving growth across the country.
“This historic deal means real change for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, with plans to attract new businesses to the area, help young people in the region get the skills they need to get on, and ensure the area has the workforce it needs to prosper.
“By trusting local people, backing business and investing in infrastructure, skills and housing, we can create thousands of new jobs. And that means more economic security, peace of mind and a brighter future for hardworking people across the region.”
The Deputy Prime Minister said: “The D2N2 Growth Deal will help to create thousands of jobs, provide incredible new training opportunities for young people, allow thousands of new homes to be built, and improve transport links across the region for people and their families; building a stronger economy and a fairer society.
“We’re placing the power and money in the hands of people in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire who know how to spend it best, making a real difference to local communities.”
David Ralph, Chief Executive of D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said:
“Local places know their areas best and the Growth Deal today marks a step change in the way Government works with local areas but is only the start of that changing relationship of devolved funding.
“We aspire to develop the D2N2 economy as nationally recognised excellence in skills development and innovation in key economic sectors such as planes, trains and automobiles, life sciences and the low carbon economy. This Growth Deal helps deliver that aspiration, and will help inspire our business base, the existing work force and the next generation of apprentices and trainees, extending the opportunities for young people – the workforce of the future.
“This Growth Deal Investment package is in addition to the 240m euros already secured through European funding and the successful delivery of £25m Growing Places Fund to accelerate stalled development; £5m for Unlocking Investment for Growth programme, Investment I the Nottingham Enterprise Zone including the recently confirmed £5.5m for the MediPark site of our Enterprise Zone and last week’s announcement of £2.6m for the University Enterprise Zone in Nottingham. The D2N2 has also benefitted from £93m Regional Growth Fund money.”
Peter Richardson, Chairman of D2N2, said: “D2N2 has risen to the challenge of not only delivering our Strategic Economic Plan but also securing co-financing for a range of important local interventions. This has culminated in the Growth Deal with Government which provides the pathway to sustainable economic growth across the D2N2 area over the next ten years.
“D2N2 is the UK’s Most Inspirational Postcode and this Growth Deal marks the start of an exciting new chapter as we now look to move from planning to implementation. We are absolutely committed to positioning this area to compete in the global economy and secure our goal of helping create 55,000 private sector jobs by 2023.
“We are working to deliver a transformative economic impact, accelerating private sector employment and the supply of new homes, raising skills, increasing our business base and ensuring that the benefits of growth are shared across all communities.”
To View The Growth Deal Fact Sheet, Click Here
