Businesses in Ellesmere Port will now have access to millions of pounds of European development cash after campaigners won their fight to gain Assisted Area status for the industrial town.
For the past six months, Cheshire and Warrington Enterprise Partnership joined forces with the Ellesmere Port Development Board and Cheshire West and Chester Council to pressure the Government into reclassify the areaunder the European Commission’s Regional Aid Guidelines.
Assisted Area status allows greater access to UK and European funding sources for small businesses and larger enterprises and isdesigned to unlock an area’s growth potential. The Government says the new status will be implemented under new legislation to be passed next month.
A key part of the bid’s success was Ellesmere Port’s evolving manufacturing infrastructure. Since the 1980s it has experienced major changes, attracting a raft of new businesses to the area and creating thousands of badly needed jobs.
“I am delighted that our application for Assisted Area status has been successful and it will definitely help to secure continued economic growth for both our existing companies and those looking to locate to the area,” said Robert Mee, chairman of Ellesmere Port Development Board.
“We have demonstrated our ability to attract inward investment and we will be working in partnership with businesses to ensure they understand the opportunities that Assisted Area status brings,” he added.
Christine Gaskell is chair of Cheshire and Warrington Enterprise Partnership which co-ordinated the “compelling case” for Assisted Area status. The funding, she said “will help to attract new jobs and investment to the area and our priority is to work with our partners to ensure that local residents also benefit from this funding”.
Cheshire West and Chester Council, the authority which has planning sway on any new large scale developments within the new funding area, is led by Mike Jones. “It is our responsibility to maximise the prosperity and productivity of businesses in Ellesmere Port and Assisted Area status presents a real opportunity to do just that,” he promised. “We can now accelerate our success and look forward to seeing the impact that the funding will have on Ellesmere Port and the surrounding area.”
In March the Government confirmed which parts of the UK would be upgraded to Assisted Area status. They include Derby, Huddersfield, Portsmouth, Scunthorpe and large parts of theNorth-East, South Yorkshire, Merseyside, Strathclyde, the West Midlands and the Welsh Valleys.
“We listened carefully to local groups to identify places where regional aid can have the biggest impact and help to rebalance the economy,” said business minister, Michael Fallon. “Inclusion within an area can be a real shot in the arm for growth and jobs. It makes local businesses eligible to bid for additional funding and support that can help them to create jobs, invest in new premises or machinery, develop and grow.”
