The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Projects to get slice of cash
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Two infrastructure schemes in the city are among the 11 projects shortlisted for a slice of £16.1 million of government loan cash from the Growing Places Fund, having been selected by the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
The move will see cash provided to boost a £12 million scheme to widen the Fletton Parkway between the A1(M) and junction 2 with Goldhay Way, next to the planned Great Haddon urban extension; as well as kickstarting the creation of the “Sustainable Skills Centre” in the Moy’s End stand at Peterborough United’s ground.
The LEP has not announced how much of the £16.1 million Peterborough City Council will receive for those two projects as that is still subject to negotiations, but has said the 11 shortlisted projects are expected to lever a further £26 million of public and private funding and create 12,500 jobs in the area.
Council leader Councillor Marco Cereste said: “It’s absolutely fantastic news for the city and it opens up the regeneration of Great Haddon at one end that will see thousands of jobs and houses created, and also funding for the South Bank redevelopment which will see money go into the Moy’s End.”
Concerning the skills centre located in the soon-to-be revamped Moy’s End, the council’s head of strategic projects Richard Hodgson said that this money will enable the council to spend more on the facilities and services inside the centre.
And while the Fletton Parkway scheme was going to go ahead anyway as Great Haddon is developed, the cash will enable work to get underway sooner, potentially within the next 18 to 24 months.
Steve Bowyer, head of economic development at Opportunity Peterborough, said: “The Growing Places Fund is in place to deliver infrastructure projects which under normal circumstances would be difficult to deliver.
“This is very good news as these two schemes will make a big difference to the city.”
Other shortlisted projects include the Huntingdon Link Road and the Fenland Horticulture and Land-based Skills Centre.
The cash given to local authorities is in the form of a loan, which when paid back is put into another funding pot to be used to kickstart other projects
Alex Plant, strategy director for the LEP, said: “We look forward to making more detailed announcements about each of these schemes soon and getting these projects moving to unlock a significant number of new jobs and economic growth.”