A 35 million pound fund to boost employment property in East Midlands
East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is working with the seven Sub-regional Strategic Partnerships to inject thirty five million pounds into a fund to create sustainable properties to support the growth of high quality jobs in the region.
The High Quality Employment Floor Space fund aims to create and encourage more skilled and high added-value jobs in the East Midlands by providing quality sites and buildings for regional businesses as well as attracting foreign investment. It will assist in contributing to the 1.5% annual growth rate for employment floor space across the region, a key objective in the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy.
The fund will focus on areas of high potential including the growth area of Northamptonshire, recently designated growth points of Derby, Leicester and Nottingham, Lincoln, Newark and Grantham, and sub-regional centres defined in the draft regional spatial strategy.
Projects considered for funding will include:
- employment space in the key priority sectors of transport equipment, food & drink, construction and healthcare
- science and technology space supporting the growth in the knowledge economy
- incubator space for start-up companies particularly in the science and technology sector
- upgrading existing or commercially unattractive sites to increase high quality employment space
- grow-on space to support the development of the priority sectors and growing science and technology companies
Applications to this fund will need to demonstrate that proposed projects will promote high standards in both their sustainability aspirations and deliverability as well as their potential to catalyse and encourage wider regeneration.
Grants will range between two hundred and fifty thousand pounds and five million pounds over the next three years. Lower value projects starting from fifty five thousand pounds will also be considered for feasibility and planning studies for development of employment floor space. Expressions of interest must be received by 18th February 2008.
The fund will be supported through emda funding and may be part-financed where appropriate with European Union and sub-regional funds.
Anthony Payne, Land and Development Director at emda said:
"An Investment in land and development is a key priority of the Regional Economic Strategy and vitally important to the East Midlands economy. Creating and improving employment space and achieving the 1.5% annual growth rate which will help assist in generating more high-quality jobs in the region, as part of our commitment to a flourishing region."
For more information on the fund, visit www.emda.org.uk/floorspacefund or contact Ruth Brasier on 0115 988 8486 or Carolynn McCullough on 0115 988 8531.
WIll provide professional services eith back-office function for clients looking to expand locally or relocate to Leicester or Leicestershire.
Invest Leicestershire part of Leicester Shire Promotions and the official inward investment agency for Leicester and Leicestershire has announced a new Professional Services Partnership initiative.
The new scheme is aimed at building relationships with professional service companies in Leicester and Leicestershire. As part of this new partnership, Invest Leicestershire will act as a virtual back-office advisory function for clients of the professional services company who may be looking to expand their business within Leicester or Leicestershire, or relocate to the area from outside of the city and county.
Invest Leicestershire will provide partners and their clients with a range of services including:
Commercial property services - in helping to identify property solutions and the promotion of commercial property through out Leicester and Leicestershire;
Workforce recruitment and training - by sourcing labour, training programmes and promotion of Leicestershire as a place to work and live;
Funding and grants - through supplying intelligence on potential funding sources to support business growth;
Location knowledge and promotion - by arranging familiarisation visits and making the econimic and lifestlye case for Leicester and Leicestershire.
Ian Borley, Senior Partner at KPMG an Invest Leicestershire Professional Services partner, said:
"We are in regular contact with businesses looking to expand and relocate. By working in partnership with Invest Leicestershire, we can improve our fulfilment of the needs of the client, as well as assist in securing greater investment for Leicestershire. It''s a real win for all involved our clients, our business and the local economy."
Martin Peters, Chief Executive of Leicester Shire Promotions, added:
"The professional services sector is firmly established in Leicester and Leicestershire. Their clients regularly include existing local companies who may be interested in growing their operations or businesses from outside of the destination who could be encouraged to relocate here and invest in the local economy. By forming partnerships with such organisations, not only can we can offer a value-added function to the partner''s operation to the benefit of their own clients, but we will also help to grow the local economy by looking at opportunities to create and safeguard jobs."
For more details on the Professional Services programme, please contact William Presland at Leicester Shire Promotions on 0116 225 4082 or email William.presland@l-p-l.com