Local authorities have less than four weeks to bid for grants from an £18m fund, launched on Friday by minister Gavin Barwell who also confirmed the creation of housing zones in Blackburn, Burnley and Wirral Waters.
More than three quarters of the North West’s local authority areas declared in favour of leaving the European Union.
The first comments coming in from business leaders forecast short-term damage to the economy and call for a clear plan to reassure investors.
Labour remained dominant in the region, although lost its total control of Manchester City Council and Knowsley Council.
As the counting of votes continues across a number of the North West’s local authorities, the results are in for all Greater Manchester’s boroughs outside the city centre, and in Liverpool, Mayor Joe Anderson’s re-election was confirmed with 52.6% of the vote.
Three million apprenticeships will be funded by 2020 through the levy on all businesses with more than £3m payroll costs, prompting mixed responses from industry.
A handful of new Enterprise Zones were announced by the chancellor in the Autumn Statement to lever investment into the region, at Kingmoor Park in Carlisle, a new Cheshire Science Corridor linking several assets, Hillhouse Chemicals & Energy at Thornton-Cleveleys in Lancashire, and Greater Manchester Life Science.
