The Marches LEP is earmarking more than £34 million of European funding to help the region’s small businesses become more competitive between 2014 and 2020, it was revealed today.
Another £30 million has been provisionally allocated to employment and skills, with activities funded by the EU aimed at tackling skills shortages, getting people into work and out of poverty and overcoming the barriers to getting and keeping a job.
The Marches LEP, which is tasked with revitalising the economy of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, was provisionally allocated around £97.3 million by the European Commission earlier this year towards the region’s key priorities for economic growth.
The LEP has now set out what it sees as those priorities in its Draft European Structural and Investment Funds Strategy, which has been published today (TUES).
Chairman of the Marches LEP, Graham Wynn OBE, said: “Over several months, we have consulted with our partners, local authorities and stakeholders including the business community, about how these EU funds should be spent.
“We put together a number of groups with leading private sector business people and experts from the public sector to look at what the key priorities are and we’ve surveyed the business communities of the three areas, asking them what support they would like to see. We’ve also met with other LEPs across the Midlands region and representatives of business networks and organisations.
“This draft strategy is the result of that work, and it outlines how the LEP intends to support businesses, help build a low carbon economy and ensure the importance of the natural and built environment of our region is recognised.
“It is right that we are allocating so much of this funding towards supporting our core business base of SMEs and ensuring that they have access to a workforce equipped with the right skills to do the job.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises constitute the backbone of the Marches economy and are key drivers of growth and job creation. The type of support we could offer includes help with access to finance, the creation of an Enterprise Hub for the business needs of SMEs in the Marches and the development of specialist incubation space for start-ups.”
Around £10m has been provisionally allocated towards supporting the shift towards a low carbon economy, by supporting energy efficient and renewable energy use and the adoption of low carbon technologies.
And £6 million has been earmarked for social inclusion programmes, including supporting those furthest from the job market into employment and the backing of community led approaches to targeting areas with high levels of unemployment.
Mr Wynn added: “We will continue to work with our partners and stakeholders in the coming weeks and months as we further develop our plans, with the finalised strategy due to be with Government in January 2014.”
The Draft Strategy is available to view on the Marches LEP website at www.marcheslep.org.uk