Member Article

£450m pledged for regional growth

Thousands of new jobs could be created in the region thanks to a £450m injection of funding pledged by the government today.

The first round of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is expected to see over 27,000 jobs directly created and safeguarded, with close to a further 100,000 jobs in associated supply chains and local economies.

The second round of the fund opens to bids today. This round will aim to allocate the remainder of the fund, which is nearly £1bn.

James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “Collectively, the successful bids from the North East make up a sizeable amount of the total Regional Growth Fund awards to date.

“We need to learn from the projects that have been successful this time so that we focus on the right priorities and enter bids for the next funding round that are equally good, if not better.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .