A total of £12m in funding has been awarded to projects across the Sheffield City Region, including up to £7m towards a new district centre at Waverley.
The grant from the Local Growth Fund (LGF) will contribute to Waverley Square Ltd’s £42.7m plan for new retail, leisure and office facilities on the Waverley site, at the heart of the region’s Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) and emerging Global Innovation Corridor.
Sheffield City Region Mayor, Dan Jarvis, said: “This is a great example of the Mayoral Combined Authority and LEP using our resources to make significant improvements to communities in the Sheffield City Region, as well as being an important step in the ongoing growth of our Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID) and the emerging Global Innovation Corridor.
“This development in Waverley, together with the ambitious plans for our transport network laid out in our draft bid to the Transforming Cities Fund, will build on the success of recent investments in the area from companies such as McLaren Automotive and Boeing.
“With the right transport and infrastructure in place, we can create a super-connected community where people want to live, work and play, improve people’s quality of life and actively contribute to improving the UK’s economic productivity.”
Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, Jake Berry MP, said: “We are committed to boosting economic growth across the whole of the Northern Powerhouse and building a country that works for everyone.
“I am really pleased to see Local Growth Funding going towards exciting regeneration projects which will deliver jobs, commercial opportunities and leisure facilities for people and businesses across the Sheffield City Region. This truly demonstrates how government is working hand-in-hand with Local Enterprise Partnerships and Metro Mayors to drive economic growth across the North.”
Duncan Armstrong-Payne, Associate Director with responsibility for Waverley at Harworth Group plc, added: “The City Region’s support is essential in helping to deliver a ‘heart’ to the Waverley development, which remains one of the UK’s most important brownfield regeneration projects.
“The local centre will deliver hundreds of new jobs in its own right, whilst supporting Harworth to accelerate plot sales to housebuilders and provide the facilities that occupiers like McLaren, Rolls-Royce and the University of Sheffield’s AMRC increasingly require.”
The Local Growth Fund (LGF) is government funding awarded to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) for projects that benefit the local area and economy.
By 2021 Government will have invested over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund. There are 38 LEPs covering the whole of England, which are investing LGF money in a wide range of projects including transport, skills, business support, broadband, innovation and flood defences.
