Regional Growth Fund RSS feed for the Regional Growth Fund tag
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News
The YamYam 5 Feb 11
A bid for £5.88 million from the Government’s new Regional Growth Fund (RGF) has been submitted to help develop the former IMI copper works in Darlaston – believed to be one of the most contaminated sites in Europe.
The 35-acre site, known as Pheonix 10, off Darlaston Road, James Bridge, stands within the Darlaston Strategic Development Area (SDA), and is one of the Black Country’s largest and most strategically important development sites.
The £18m project was launched to global acclaim in March 2009 but became a victim of the recession after regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM) pulled its funding in July later that year. The Walsall Regeneration Company (WRC) which was overseeing the Darlaston SDA, and other major projects in Walsall, was axed a year later.
Developer Parkhill Estates, based in Newport in Shropshire, supported by Walsall Council and the newly formed Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), has tabled the fresh bid for RGF funds for the project which it is claimed could ultimately secure some 4,000 jobs in the area.
Major land reclamation must first be carried out before development can take shape.
Regeneration bosses have stressed that the plan is in its infancy and that the grant has not yet been secured.
A planning application would be drawn-up and the outcome of the bid to the RGF will be known in the next two to three months.
A Parkhill spokesman said: “We are aware that this has been a major project for a number of years and the Council is the organisation that has facilitated the recent rapid progress that has been an important step towards reclaiming this contaminated site which could ultimately lead to new jobs being created. We are pleased to be part of the continuing regeneration of the borough.”
Calculations carried out by the company suggest 3,976 jobs could be created or safeguarded by developing the site.
The land is the site of a heavily contaminated former copper works and needs extensive reclamation and work.
High quality employment on the site could be created if the funding is secured and planning permission is obtained.
Councillor Adrian Andrew, Walsall Council Deputy Leader and cabinet member for regeneration, said that several steps must take place before the scheme became a reality.
He said: “As a council, we have been working very hard to safeguard and create new jobs across the borough.
“We have been supporting Parkhill’s application for funding which in turn has been supported by the Black Country LEP and is a first big step in regenerating this part of the borough.
“There is still some way to go but, to be open and transparent, we would like to keep residents and partners in the picture and we pledge to keep people informed as the process, including any planning application, unfolds.”
The RGF application follows Walsall Council’s bid for funding to improve parts of the road network in Darlaston which would help traffic move to and from the Pheonix 10 site.
Business
Duncan Tift BusinessDesk 26 Jan 11
Organisations aiming to secure money from the Government through its new Regional Growth Fund have submitted almost 450 applications in the first round of bidding for a share of the £1.4bn pot.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has said all the bids will now be considered by members of the Independent Advisory Panel set up to oversee the scheme…
Business
James Graham BusinessDesk 6 Jan 11
The Government is planning to hold a summit for Local Enterprise Partnership chiefs in the spring when it will also reveal details of extra funding available to the new bodies.
The summit, which will focus on growth and competitiveness, will bring together LEP chairs from across the country “to prioritise action to stimulate growth at a regional level”, according to a statement…
Business
Duncan Tift BusinessDesk 29 Dec 10
The future of a project designed to retain highly successful companies in the West Midlands is under threat following the abolition of regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.
The Business Engagement programme run by West Midlands Chambers, a partnership of the region’s six chambers of commerce and funded by AWM, has worked with 535 strategically important businesses.
WMCC said that in order for the project to continue once AWM closes in 2012, the programme would need an injection of capital from the Regional Growth Fund (RGF)…