The Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership has agreed an expansion to its Growth Deal with the Government which will see an extra £17.2m invested in Lancashire between 2016 and 2021. The Government will work with the LEP to bring together other funding- including the Public Works Loan Board – to support the delivery of this deal. This is in addition to the £233.9m of funding committed by the Government on 7 July 2014.  Over the lifetime of its Deal (2015-2021) the Local Enterprise Partnership estimates that up to 8000 new jobs could be created,   3000 new homes built and that it has the potential to generate £280m public and private investment.

The additional proposed projects include the Engineering and Innovation Centre at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) campus in Preston.  It will deliver an Engineering Transformation Programme to enhance UCLan’s capabilities in knowledge exchange, training and research.

In addition the Government is also committing in principle support for an Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing Exploitation Centre at Samlesbury, which will support the strengthening of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through access to new technology & innovation for key sectors including for the emerging unconventional oil and gas sector.  The funding for this project will be confirmed through future Growth Deals.

The Lancashire Growth Deal is part of a long term plan to devolve at least £12 billion from central government to local economies. The plan aims for every part of the country to be a motor of growth for the national economy – building on the strength of the Lancashire area.