£75 million funding package to be signed off in Shropshire
A funding package of more than £75 million, creating thousands of homes and jobs in the Marches area is being signed off in Shropshire today.
The funding will be signed off by Greg Clark, the Minister for Universities, Science and Cities, at Harper Adams University this lunchtime.
At the signing will be Graham Wynne, LEP Chairman, Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council, Kuldip Sahota, leader of of Telford & Wrekin Council and Tony Johnson, leader of Herefordshire Council.
The deal includes £12.8m for 2015/16 which will go to key projects in Telford and Hereford which will deliver up to 6,000 jobs and 3,000 homes. Nearly £42m has been earmarked for follow-on projects across the wider Marches region over the following five years.
One of the first projects being supported by the deal will be the £17.4m Telford Growth Package, which will have guaranteed funding for 2015-16 and 2016-17. The Telford project will see improvements to key junctions, utilities and infrastructure delivering three employment and housing extension sites.
A further £41.83 million has been provisionally allocated for projects planned for 2016-17 onwards, including the £10m Shrewsbury Integrated Transport Package and £5.2m Telford Eastern Gateway scheme. Also part of the 2016-2021 deal are the Oxon Link Road, Telford Bus Station redevelopment, and more than £3m for skills projects in the Marches.
Chairman of the Marches LEP Graham Wynn said: “This investment package, including £12.8m in the first year of the deal, will see great progress being made on key infrastructure projects in our three urban centres which will create thousands of jobs and homes. “These are transport schemes which will unlock development sites, they are important pieces of work which need to be completed if we are to tackle a number of other schemes which will also drive economic growth in the region.”
