Dorset LEP Chairman Gordon Page, and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
The Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has received the Deputy Prime Minister for the official signing of the Dorset Growth Deal 2015–2021.
The signing sees an extra £12.6 million invested in the Dorset area between 2016 and 2021. This is in addition to the £66.4 million funding secured by the LEP on 7 July 2014, bringing in a total of £79 million to the county.
The lifetime of the Growth Deal spans 2015-2021, during which the LEP estimates that up to 26,000 new jobs could be created, 3,000 new homes built and that it has the potential to generate £650 million public and private investment.
Gordon Page, Chairman of the Dorset LEP, said: “The signing of the Growth Deal marks a momentous time for Dorset. The county is full of economic potential that the LEP is fully committed to both supporting and showcasing by strategically driving economic growth and creating more jobs in our county. ”
July 2014 saw the launch of the following projects:
- Port of Poole Infrastructure
A package of schemes to improve access in and around the port of Poole, including maintaining a second bridge crossing and completing townside access to the port, to unlock growth at the port and new development sites in Poole. - Bournemouth Airport Infrastructure
A package of transport schemes to unlock suppressed growth at Bournemouth Airport, including the major renewal of the A338 spur road. - Jurassica
Preparatory work for a flagship new Jurassic Coast visitor centre on the Isle of Portland. - ODIAC
Funding to establish a research centre of excellence in orthopaedics at In addition, a further seven more projects are to be supported through LEP funding.
Provisional allocations to projects starting 16/17 and beyond
- Bournemouth and Poole College Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing – new facilities for engineering and advanced manufacturing students to help close Dorset’s high level skills gap in this key sector
- Bournemouth and Poole College Financial and Business Services – refurbishment of facilities to equip the next generation of local entrepreneurs with the enterprise skills they need to succeed
Further projects to be supported:
- Road improvements to the A338 Wessex Way to Wessex Fields business area which will unlock over 2,500 jobs as well as improving access to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
- A new building at Bournemouth University and Arts University which will provide business support to new digital and creative industry sector businesses.
- Providing funding to Kingston Mauward College to invest in cutting edge equipment and enhanced building facilities which will develop the skills which will help businesses in the agriculture technology sector.
- Development of a Weymouth Town Centre Masterplan, which will bring together potential developers, residents and the business community.
- To assist the Dorset Green site realise its full potential as a secure business site encouraging new businesses to join its current anchor tenants Quinetiq and Atlas Electronic.
- Supporting a global initiative, Mass Extinction Monitoring Observatory (MEMO), to construct a high profile visitor site on the Isle of Portland overlooking the Jurassic Coast
For more information on the Dorset Growth Deal and more, visit www.dorsetlep.co.uk
