The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Gloucester First LEP have submitted bids to the Government for further Growth Deal funding.

The former has submitted proposals for investments of up to £400 million for projects designed to boost growth in local economies and improve crucial transport links across Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay. The Gloucester First LEP submission focuses on three key areas for Gloucestershire; business and innovation, regeneration and skills.

Steve Hindley, chairman of the Heart of the South West LEP, said: “We have ambitious plans for the region, but they are realistic ones if we secure the necessary funding from the Government. We believe this area has the chance to leverage a bigger step-change in transformational growth than anywhere else, to benefit our local economy and that of the UK. Decades of under-investment have given way to new opportunities through our sector strengths: marine, aerospace and advanced engineering, rural productivity, health and social care, nuclear and data analytics.”