LEPs to share £500m for infrastructure development

Author: Nick Mann, Public Finance - Nov 8, 2011

The government has today announced how it plans to share out a £500m funding pot for infrastructure projects that will encourage economic growth.

The Growing Places Fund will be made available to the 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships, which bring councils and businesses together to collaborate on economic growth initiatives.

LEPs awarded a share of the funding will be responsible for allocating the money to developers in their area, allowing them to prioritise the infrastructure they believe will create new jobs and homes. These could include strategic road links, access works and flood storage capacity.

LEPs are also being encouraged to establish revolving funds, so that the money invested in projects is repaid by developers and then reinvested locally.

Today, the two departments co-ordinating the fund – the Department for Communities and Local Government and Department for Transport – published how they would share out the money among the 38 LEPs if they all successfully applied for a share of the pot.

This includes £39.5m for the ‘Pan-London’ LEP, £23.9m for the Leeds City Region and £17.4m for the LEP covering Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Commenting on the fund, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: ‘The £500m Growing Places Fund will unlock much-needed local infrastructure and get the homes we need built. It will be Local Enterprise Partnerships, made up of the people and businesses who know their local areas best, who will decide where this cash boost will be spent.

‘I now want to see these partnerships coming together and finding innovative ways to unlock local sites and help get Britain building again.’

Transport Secretary Justine Greening added: ‘Transport is key to unlocking growth. The Growing Places fund will let communities provide the transport links that get people and businesses from A to B.

‘This will be crucial in building the balanced and dynamic economy that is essential for our future prosperity.’

The decision to give LEPs responsibility for allocating the money was welcomed by Alex Thomson, chief executive of the Localis think-tank.

He said: ‘We welcome ministers’ decision that Local Enterprise Partnerships rather than Whitehall will have the say over the priorities for investment, which will ensure that the money will go to areas determined by those with real local knowledge. This new fund is a fantastic opportunity, and challenge, for LEPs to take the lead in driving economic growth from the bottom up.’

The government plans to allocated all the money this financial

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