Member Article

£50m Growth Funding to propel North East’s plans for Advanced Manufacturing Park

The government has allocated £49.7m in Local Growth Funding to the North East, as revealed in Theresa May’s Industrial Strategy update.

The majority of the funding, which takes the 2015-2021 total for the North East to £379.6m, will be used as investment into the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) near Nissan, which will secure 5,200 jobs for the North East economy by 2027.

The IAMP is a 100-hectare site that bridges South Tyneside and Sunderland and aims to provide a world-class environment for high-tech industries and advanced manufacturing businesses on a site just north of Nissan’s existing manufacturing plant.

The IAMP will bring substantial benefits for the North East Economy and will support and grow the established supply chain in the area.

The Park will significantly strengthen the region’s reputation as the UK’s automotive sector national hub and show case the smart specialisations skills of the North East and help increase the offer to inward investors.

Andrew Hodgson, North East Local Enterprise Partnership Chair, said: ’This latest growth deal allows the North East LEP to invest and drive forward the delivery of the International Advanced Manufacturing Park.

“We will work with our local authority partners, North East Automotive Alliance and the private sector to deliver this vitally important scheme, which is of strategic importance not only for the North East, but for the UK’s industrial strategy.

“The Government has chosen not to back our full Local Growth Fund bid which is deeply disappointing and potentially damaging to our Strategic Economic Plan to grow the North East economy.

“Our LGF allocation gives us no scope to fund a range of projects which would have driven new growth and provided real impetus to business development - as well as giving the North East the chance to contribute more fully to the Government’s Northern Powerhouse agenda.”

There will also be a small allocation to fund a Business, Innovation and Skills Infrastructure programme which will support businesses seeking to grow and develop, and provide workers with the necessary facilities needed to improve their skills.