Capital Investment

Growth Deal

Growth Deals were a £12 billion national long-term programme to revitalise local economies. They provided funds to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), partnerships between local authorities and businesses for projects that benefit the local area and economy.

Through Growth Deals, Local Enterprise Partnerships could seek freedoms, flexibilities and influence over resources from Government, and a share of the Local Growth Fund to target their identified growth priorities. This included putting forward activity and projects led by partners as part of a package bid.

There were three rounds of Local Growth Funds between 2014 and 2017, which fund projects that delivered up to 2021.

Growth Deals 1, 2 and 3

Our first Growth Deal with Government was announced in July 2014. This was extended in January 2015. Government announced a further round of Growth Deals with LEPs at the Budget in March 2016, Growth Deal 2. Our third Growth Deal was announced in February 2017.

Local Growth Fund

£579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock

In total the SELEP Growth Deal with Government has brought nearly £600m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock and over the lifetime of the Deal (2015-2021) we have aimed to deliver 78,000 jobs and 29,000 homes.

The deal and brings new responsibilities and flexibilities and was expected to attract a further £960 million extra investment into the South East.

Growing Places Fund

The Growing Places Fund was established by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport in 2011 to unlock economic growth, create jobs and build houses and help ‘kick start’ development at stalled sites. The fund worked as a recycled capital loan scheme, with funds being regenerated through repayment of approved Growing Places Fund loans. A total of £49.2m of Growing Places Fund capital funding was made available to SELEP for spend as a capital loan.  The recyclable nature of the funding has enabled a total of £65.01m to be invested across 28 projects to date.

Growing Places Fund – Round 1

Through Growing Places Fund – Round 1 funding was invested in 13 capital projects across the SELEP area.  These projects were identified by SELEP Federated Boards as meeting the Growing Places Fund eligibility criteria and were aligned with the following five themes:

• Employment and Skills;
• Job creation and Enterprise Zones;
• Homes, Communities and Culture;
• Strategic Connectivity;
• SELEP Sector Group Activities, including Transport & Strategic Infrastructure, Coastal Communities, Creative, Growth Hub, Housing, Rural, Skills and Tourism.

The majority of these projects have been successfully delivered and receipt of initial Growing Places Fund loan repayments created the opportunity for reinvestment of the funding through Growing Places Fund – Round 2.

Growing Places Fund – Round 2

Initial Growing Places Fund Round 1 loan repayments created the opportunity for reinvestment of £9.3m through Growing Places Fund – Round 2. In March 2017 the SELEP Strategic Board agreed the approach for reinvestment of the Growing Places Fund funding. The criteria for investment remained the same as outlined for Round 1 of the funding. In November 2017, following the completion of the agreed process, the SELEP Strategic Board agreed to prioritise the reinvestment of the £9.3m of Growing Places Fund funding in eight new capital projects.

Growing Places Fund – Round 3

In June 2019 the SELEP Strategic Board agreed that a further round of Growing Places Fund funding should be brought forward in 2019/20.  Round 3 of the Growing Places Fund will allow reinvestment of up to £20.724m which is due to be received in loan repayments by the end of 2020/21.  Following this decision, a process for the prioritisation of new Growing Places Fund projects was developed and was considered by SELEP Strategic Board in October 2019.