Cornish businesses are conspicuous by their absence from the list of successful bids to the first round of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), released today.
The first round of the RGF, worth £450 million, will go to 50 companies and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) across the country.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills says the investment will create or safeguard 100,000 jobs.
In total, BIS received 464 applications, with just six coming from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Cornwall’s business sector and its fledgling LEP will have the opportunity, however, to bid into the second round of RGF, which will aim to allocate the remaining £1 billion of the fund. It will have to get its collective skates on, however, as the closing date is July 1.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “I am delighted to announce the first successful bids for the Regional Growth Fund. I was bowled over by the quality of the bids. This money will now help create and safeguard jobs in some of the communities worst hit by the economic downturn.”
To promote the second round of the fund, there will be a series of road shows across England to speak with businesses and organisations with an interest in submitting a bid to advise them on all aspects of the fund. A schedule of the road shows will be announced in due course.
