GFirst LEP to bid for cash to boost the Gloucestershire economy from new Government funding pot

GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Gloucestershire businesses are today a major step closer to increasing economic growth in the county.

Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, today announced the Single Local Growth Fund in response to the Heseltine review. As an important milestone for GFirst LEP and for Gloucestershire businesses, the Single Local Growth Fund is designed to free up money each year for LEPs across the country to bring businesses and the public sector together to drive local economic growth.

Government has committed to putting £2 billion into the fund each year from 2015. GFirst LEP is already working on growth proposals designed to secure money from this fund for Gloucestershire to invest in a number of strategic flagship initiatives that will create new jobs and new opportunities for the local economy.

Chair of GFirst LEP Diane Savory OBE comments: “The Single Local Growth Fund is a real step in the right direction for Gloucestershire’s future. Although Government is committed to investing in LEPs and local economies for the long term, we would have welcomed a more significant funding commitment from Government at this stage. A greater funding commitment would enable us to build upon our achievements to date and help us in our plans to grow Gloucestershire." “Harnessing the passion and expertise of the county’s businesses is central to our plans to drive our economy forward and help Gloucestershire continue to be a great place to live, work and invest. Over the next twelve months we will create a business plan for growing the county, led by the input, knowledge and passion of local companies.”

David Owen, Chief Executive, GFirst LEP said: “GFirst LEP is driven by businesses, for businesses in Gloucestershire, in partnership with the public and voluntary sectors. For this reason, it’s vital that the business community has a say in how the Strategic Growth Plan will look. Capturing feedback will be our next priority as part of our “Growing Gloucestershire” campaign. I urge all businesses across the county to get involved in shaping the future of our county by reading our annual report.