Ellesmere Port granted assisted area status
Ellesmere Port has been granted assisted area status, after the Cheshire & Warrington Enterprise Partnership applied for the title under the European Commission's regional aid guidelines for 2014-20.
Assisted area status enables access to a greater level of funding from UK and European sources from small businesses to large enterprises and provides the potential to attract new investment to the area. The government plans to implement the new guidelines in to UK legislation by July 2014.
Cheshire & Warrington Enterprise Partnership worked alongside the Ellesmere Port Development Board and Cheshire West & Chester Council on the application.
The Enterprise Partnership said a key part of the bid's success was Ellesmere Port's evolving manufacturing infrastructure. The past few years has seen the town attract a raft of new businesses, secure major funding boosts, see key improvements works and create thousands of new jobs locally.
Christine Gaskell, chairman of Cheshire & Warrington Enterprise Partnership, said: "Cheshire and Warrington Enterprise Partnership has worked hard with our partners in the Department for Business & Innovation, Cheshire West & Chester Council, Ellesmere Port Development Board and the private sector to make a compelling case for Assisted Area status.
"This funding will help to attract new jobs and investment to the area and our priority is to work with our partners to ensure that local residents will also benefit from this funding."
