14/06/12
Bids for Regional Growth Fund round 3 are unveiled in Tees Valley LEP
Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU) has endorsed third round bids to the Government’s
Regional Growth Fund (RGF) which include schemes that will benefit large,
medium and small-enterprises and help young people take their first step into
the world of work
TVU, the Local Enterprise Partnership for the area, has worked with businesses and its public sector partners to prepare submissions to the latest RGF bidding process.
Fifteen project applications have been presented by private sector companies with a capital expenditure of more than £602 million and the potential to create or safeguard more than 1,800 jobs.
The total RGF requirement for these projects is just under £68 million and will lever in more than £535 million of private sector investment.
The projects comprise of four from process industry companies, three projects from companies involved in the low carbon energy industry, four from the advanced manufacturing and engineering sector, two projects from logistics companies, one supporting infrastructure development and another from the creative and leisure industry.
In recognition of the barriers that smaller businesses are facing when trying to access finance from banks, a £10 million bid for a Tees Valley Business Loan Fund to assist small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access finance and promote growth has been submitted.
With complementary funding, the £40 million fund would provide loans of between £15,000 and £150,000 to up to 517 companies during the period 2013 to 2023 and result in approximately 3,254 jobs safeguarded or created with significant private sector investment secured.
A private sector application is being made to set up a Tees Valley Business Enhanced Apprenticeship Programme covering a range of industries including the advanced manufacturing, process and logistics sectors.
This would provide financial incentives to employers, particularly SMEs, to take on apprentices or trainees and also offer opportunities for graduates to be recruited into industry.
Tees Valley’s large employers would lead the initiative working with SMEs to encourage apprenticeship recruitment across the supply chain.
TVU also is endorsing a number of third party bids, which include one to the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative, which would support the development of an integrated petrochemical cluster in Tees Valley. The £3.8 million bid could bring in £1 billion of private sector investment and potentially create 2,000 new jobs over the lifetime of the project.
TVU submitted a £10 million bond programme, which would help create hundreds of jobs and bring up to £350 million of extra work into Tees Valley. It has been created to help the advanced manufacturing sector further develop.
Durham Tees Valley Airport Limited has prepared a bid for funding towards the improvement of the rail and road infrastructure at Durham Tees Valley Airport.
TVU has also worked with Business & Enterprise Group, UNW and NCJ Media to compile a bid for a North East ‘Let’s Grow’ fund that would offer grants of between £50,000 and £1 million and create about 2,000 jobs - 764 in the Tees Valley. The RGF bid is for £30 million.
Stephen Catchpole, Managing Director of Tees Valley Unlimited, said:
“The latest Tees Valley RGF bids are extremely wide ranging. They embrace schemes that will benefit large, medium and small-enterprises across a broad spectrum of sectors and also help young people wanting to take that important first step on the career ladder.
“The projects and programmes are imaginative, forward-thinking and have great potential to help deliver TVU’s economic ambitions of growing our industrial base, diversifying and expanding the local economy and laying foundations for long-term prosperity.”
As Durham Tees Valley Airport steps up its drive to attract new business it will be joining forces with the area’s Local Enterprise Partnership, Tees Valley Unlimited, at a major industry event next weekend.
Experienced airports executive Vic Brodrick, who is providing business development support to Durham Tees Valley and Tees Valley Unlimited Managing Director Stephen Catchpole, will be travelling to Tallinn in Estonia for Routes Europe 2012 which brings together airports and airlines from across the continent to discuss plans for future developments.
Vic Brodrick explained:
“This is one of the most important events of its kind in the world with over 80 airlines represented and it provides a unique opportunity for us to meet with those with whom we are already in discussions and make contact with others where we believe there could be potential for attracting business to Durham Tees Valley.
“There is no better opportunity to meet key decision-makers face-to-face and we believe that we have a very good story to tell about the plans now underway for the airport’s revival and the potential opportunities across the board…for business travel, leisure destinations and freight services.
“This is all part of our strategy to attract new business at the same time as supporting our existing routes and airlines, as demonstrated by the recent launch of our joint ‘World on Your Doorstep’ marketing campaign with KLM.
“Tees Valley Unlimited, together with our partner local authorities, has given great support to that campaign and we are delighted that TVU is joining with us at Routes to underline the support of the whole area for the airport and show that the Tees Valley really is open for business.”
Stephen Catchpole added:
“Durham Tees Valley Airport is a hub of untapped potential – it offers first rate facilities, excellent connectivity and research tells us there is an existing passenger need for both business and leisure travel.
“The meetings in Tallinn are about getting that message across to the industry and maintaining the positive momentum following the recent launch of KLM’s marketing campaign.
“DTVA is important to the Tees Valley economy and Tees Valley Unlimited will continue to work alongside all the stakeholder partners to maximise the benefit it brings to the area.”
Back to News page
