March 2017

WARWICKSHIRE MEANS BUSINESS

£42.4 million cash boost for Coventry and Warwickshire to help create local jobs and growth

The Coventry and Warwickshire region has received a £42.4 million boost from central government as part of the Growth Deal to help create jobs, support businesses and encourage growth.

Some of the locally-chosen projects likely to benefit from the funding over the next few years include:

* The expansion of apprenticeships, targeting skills required by local businesses to support the growth of the Coventry and Warwickshire economy

* The provision of cutting-edge facilities to help advanced manufacturing and engineering businesses to innovate

* Enhancements to the transport infrastructure to improve connectivity between the East Midlands, West Midlands and the Greater South.

These projects, alongside others, will improve skills, create jobs, build homes and improve infrastructure in the region. This latest award of £42.4million comes on top of £89.4 million of Growth Deal funding already awarded to Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, which will see jobs created, homes built and extra investment.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, leader of Warwickshire County Council and board member of the CWLEP, said: "We are very excited by the new Growth Deal money. 

"Among other projects that will be earmarked, the funding will enable us to put in place a strategy to lever in private-sector funding to regenerate Nuneaton town centre. It will help to unlock the funding that we need to create an infrastructure in and around the town that will enhance it as an area, not just for residents and visitors but also in which to do business, stimulating the local economy and creating jobs for local people."

CWLEP chairman Jonathan Browning said: “We are pleased to have secured further funding to help make key projects in the region happen, though at the same time we are under no illusions about how much more still needs to be done.

“This Growth Deal funding will directly lead to new jobs being created in Coventry and Warwickshire, key improvements to infrastructure, as well as the enhancement of skills and knowledge to drive the local economy.

“The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership has worked tirelessly to unlock economic opportunities across the sub-region to stimulate economic growth and to allow the area to get close to achieving its potential. This new funding will be vital in supporting the region to build further momentum.”

Previous funding through the  Growth Deal in Coventry and Warwickshire has already:

* Brought major investment in road infrastructure improvements, particularly the A45, A46 and A5 corridors, and rail infrastructure including the development of a new station at Kenilworth

* Led to the construction and opening of the new Trident Centre at Warwickshire College, which has already delivered more than 350 apprenticeships in advanced manufacturing and engineering to help to meet employers’ demand for skills in this sector.

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