Green firms secure cut of £450m Regional Growth Fund
12 Apr, 2011
Handful of low carbon businesses earmarked for funding under new coalition growth scheme....
A number of green firms are set to benefit from a major new growth fund that will be launched today by the government along with the pledge that its new regional investment programme will create over 100,000 new jobs.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will today announce that the first round of the Regional Growth Fund will see £450m invested in 50 businesses and projects across England - £200m more than had been originally planned.
The government said it expects the investment to create over 27,000 direct jobs, with a further 100,000 jobs supported in associated supply chains and local economies.
It also predicted that the £450m of investment will leverage more than £2.5bn of private sector investment.
"This money will now help create and safeguard jobs in some of the communities worst hit by the economic downturn," said Clegg. "Today is a step towards rebalancing our economy away from an unhealthy overreliance on a small number of industries and a few areas. We need to spread opportunity across the whole country, drawing on our many talents."
The funding will help plug some of the gap left by the Regional Development Agencies and while there is no specific focus on low carbon firms a number of green businesses and projects are expected to benefit from the funding.
Most notably, the Carbon Trust has received funding to support its operations in Yorkshire and Humber, while Nissan has received investment in the North East, presumably to support its plans for a new electric vehicle manufacturing line in Sunderland. In addition, Alstom Grid UK in the West Midlands has received funding to support its smart grid developments.
The government also announced that the bidding process for the second round of funding, totalling nearly £1bn, starts today, with the coalition calling for bids from a wide range of sectors including low carbon firms.
To promote the second round of the fund and encourage quality bids that meet the objectives and criteria, there will be a series of road shows across England to speak with businesses and organisations with an interest in submitting a bid to advise them on all aspects of the fund.
The closing date for round two is noon on July 1 2011.