South East LEP area is to receive a further £102m of government cash to help create jobs, support businesses and create new growth opportunities.
Andrew Percy MP, Minister at the Department for Communities and Local Government, who has responsibility for local growth, today announced a government cash injection of £102.65m for capital projects for the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), which covers East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock with nineteen projects in total set to benefit.
Projects which have been successful in securing funding include a Technical and Professional Skills Centre at Stansted Airport; extension of the Leigh Flood Storage Area near Tonbridge, Kent; and an East Sussex Strategic Growth Project, which were identified as local priorities by SELEP
Improving educational attainment
The package of projects to be funded through this round of Local Growth Fund will improve educational attainment, create new jobs and provide the enabling infrastructure to support the delivery of new homes and employment, and will leverage an additional £141m in private sector funding.
The projects set to receive funding are:
- Dartford Town Centre Transformation (£4.3m)
- Ashford International Rail Connectivity Project (£4.8m)
- Fort Halstead redevelopment, Sevenoaks (£1.53m)
- Rochester Airport Technology Park, Medway (£3.7m)
- Southend Airport Business Park Phase 2 (£19.89m)
- Strood Civic Centre Flood Mitigation Works (£3.5m)
- A2500 Lower Road Improvement (£1.26m)
- Kent and Medway Engineering, Design, Growth & Enterprise Hub, Canterbury (£6.12m)
- Leigh Flood Storage Area, Tonbridge (£4.635m)
- Gilden Way upgrading, Harlow (£5m)
- A2 off-slip at Canterbury (£4.4m)
- East Sussex Strategic Growth Project (£8.2m)
- Technical and Professional Skills Centre at Stansted Airport (£3.5m)
- Devonshire Park Quarter redevelopment (£5m)
- Innovation Centre (Phase 1) at University of Essex Knowledge Gateway, Colchester (£2m)
- STEM Innovation Campus, Colchester Institute (£5m)
- A127 at Fairglen (£6.235m)
- M11 jn8 improvements (£2.73m)
- Grays South (£10.84m)
New homes and jobs
Minister for Local Growth, Andrew Percy MP said:
“From Southend to East Sussex, today’s £102 million investment will support the delivery of new homes and jobs right across the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.
In fact right across the South East, people will benefit from £492 million extra investment thanks to these Growth Deals to create jobs and infrastructure projects of the future.
These growth deals are a crucial part of our efforts to create an economy that works for everyone, and will ensure every region of the country has the chance to realise its full potential.”
SELEP Chairman Christian Brodie said:
“This Growth Deal settlement is a huge boost for the South East economy. ”We have secured funding to channel significant investment into the projects which are of highest priority to our businesses and local areas.
This investment enables us to drive forward our shared growth agenda delivering economic growth, new jobs, facilitating housing, improving connectivity and boosting skills in the South East.
The additional funding that will be leveraged into the South East as a result of these investments is testament to the continued success of our area.
Reaching right across the South East from the Thames Gateway; to skills investment at Stansted airport; to communities and culture in Eastbourne; and, strategic connectivity in rail at Ashford; this funding presents opportunities for us to fund future growth in new and different ways.
SELEP has taken huge strides in recent months, with our private sector businesses and councils across East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock working together to make the South East the place for business and growth and we also must pay tribute to pay to the support from our stakeholders, particularly MPs, in helping us achieve this result”.
In addition to £488m already secured
This latest award of Local Growth Funding is on top of £488 million of Growth Deals monies already awarded to the SELEP. This latest investment of £102m will deliver an additional 6,129 new homes, create or safeguard 30,785 jobs and secure a further £141 million of private sector investment across the region.
In total the SELEP Growth Deal from 2014 – 2020 now stands at £590.8m which is set to deliver 78,000 jobs, 29,000 homes in total and attract a further £960 million extra investment into the South East over the next five years.
For more information about what these new projects will deliver view our LGF 3 document here