Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP) has received a notional allocation of €68.1 million from a new European Union Growth Programme for the seven year period from 2014-2020.
The money was confirmed in a statement from Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and comes from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund. Providing details of the allocations made to all 39 LEP areas, the Secretary of State remarked that the funding “marks a significant shift from previous European programmes which were substantially centralised with limited local involvement in many key areas.”
Peter Pawsey, Executive Chair at Worcestershire LEP says: “We welcome this significant investment in the County and will now be concentrating our efforts on developing a detailed investment strategy and growth plan for the funds.”
He continues: “The WLEP allocation will go towards providing the resources we need to achieve our ambitions. We look forward to working with Ministers and officials to bring our European Union Investment Strategy and resultant plans to fruition.” LEPs are required to submit their final plans to BIS by the spring of 2014.
Allocations are subject to final agreement on the 2014-2020 Budget in the European Parliament.