More than £86million government funding to level up South West

The South West will benefit from more than £86million of investment thanks to the government’s Getting Building Fund.

The £900million fund was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in June as part of the Conservative government’s New Deal for Britain, an ambitious economic strategy to rebuild Britain after coronavirus by putting skills and infrastructure investment at the heart of our economic recovery.

More than 300 projects, which have been determined as ‘shovel-ready’, have been allocated a share of the fund. In total, the investment is expected to deliver up to 45,000 homes, create up to 85,000 jobs and reduce around 65 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions across England.

In the South West, 41 projects will receive a total of £86,715,535.

This covers eight projects in Devon, seven in Cornwall, four in Somerset, nine in Dorset, one in Bristol, six in Gloucestershire/South Gloucestershire, three in Wiltshire and three that span more than one county.

The funding builds on the commitments made by Boris Johnson and the Conservatives during last year’s General Election to level up the whole country, investing in infrastructure and communities across the whole country. The Prime Minister’s New Deal accelerated more than £5billion of investment on infrastructure projects, including the Getting Building Fund, while the Chancellor has also recently set out a Plan for Jobs to support people in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said:

“As we get Britain building we are also laying the foundations for a green economic recovery by investing in vital infrastructure for local communities, creating jobs and building environmentally-friendly homes with a huge £1.3billion investment announced today.

“This government is determined to level up all parts of the country and this funding will not only give a much-needed boost to our economic recovery, it will help build the good-quality, affordable homes the country needs.”