Manchester gets lion’s share of £556m Northern funding
The Government has announced how the North’s £556m latest Local Growth Fund allocation will be split across 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships, with Greater Manchester receiving the highest award at £130m.
The three largest allocations go to LEPs in the North West. Manchester tops the list by a lead of £60m; next is Liverpool City Region at £72.0m, followed by Lancashire at £69.8m.
Overall the North West’s five LEPs will share out £327.8m from the pot.
In order of size, the 11 LEPs awards are as follows:
- Greater Manchester £130.1m
- Liverpool City Region £72.0m
- Lancashire £69.8m
- Leeds City Region £67.5m
- North Eastern £49.7m
- Cheshire and Warrington £43.3m
- Sheffield City Region £37.8m
- Humber £27.9m
- York, North Yorkshire, East Riding £23.7m
- Tees Valley £21.8m
- Cumbria £12.7m
LEPs are area-based economic advisory organisations established by Government, with public-private boards allied closely to local authorities and combined authorities. LEPs handle EU funding bids, Local Growth Fund programmes, initiatives such as enterprise zones and they help inform industrial policy when called upon by Whitehall.
Specific North West projects which are set to receive support from the Growth Fund include £10m towards the joint Greater Manchester and Cheshire Life Sciences Fund, and £10m towards development in Crewe town centre.
Lancashire has announced a roster of priority projects, including a £21m conference centre at Blackpool Winter Gardens; an Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone; new housing and employment growth opportunities in Padiham, known as the North West Burnley Growth Corridor; and the expansion of the Lomeshaye Industrial Estate.
