Government announces further £1bn of Local Growth Deal awards

In July 2014, England's 39 LEPs, partnerships between councils and businesses to decide on local priorities for investment, each agreed Local Growth Deals with the UK government to receive a share of £2bn towards specific projects in 2015/16. In its 2014 Autumn Statement, the government announced that the Deals would be expanded with a further £1bn, and Cameron confirmed today the projects being taken forward with the additional funding.

Among the major projects earmarked to receive a share of the funding was the first phase of the Lincolnshire Lakes scheme, which will see the delivery of the first 310 of up to 10,000 homes in a series of new villages on the western edge of Scunthorpe.

The Black County LEP is set to receive around £6 million "to help bring forward sites for housing and jobs", the government said. Funding set aside for transport improvements will unlock sites for "a significant housing development" in Sussex, 6,000 homes in Norfolk, and a mixed-use scheme with 600 homes and 5,000 square metres of commercial space in Cornwall, it said.

"Giving local communities the power and the money to unlock growth and development and make the spending decisions that work for them is a key part of our long-term economic plan to secure a brighter future for Britain and ensure a recovery for all," said Cameron in a statement.

"That’s what Growth Deals are all about, backing local people and investing in the infrastructure, housing and skills that will drive forward local economies, create more jobs and opportunities for hardworking people and supercharge all parts of our country," Cameron said.

The government said discussions would continue for future years of the Deal, with around £5bn remaining to be allocated.