Thames Valley: Lord Heseltine signs £107m Growth Deal for Thames Valley Berkshire

Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine this week signed the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal at the LEP National Conference in London, joining Steve Lamb, chairman of Thames Valley Berkshire LEP.

Over the lifetime of the deal (2015-2021) the LEP estimates that up to 20,000 new jobs could be created, 12,000 new homes built and that it has the potential to generate £40 million of public and private investment.

Projects funded by the Growth Deal include:
- Delivery of an unprecedented series of major infrastructure investments in the national road and rail network serving the sub region’s economy – together worth approximately £5 billion. These include Great Western Electrification; Western Rail Access to Heathrow and a Smart Motorway for M4 J3-12.
- Delivery of a new railway station at Green Park in Reading, as well as improvements at Maidenhead station.
- Delivery of rapid transit schemes in Slough and Reading, and park and ride in East Reading.
- Delivery of 12,000 new homes and access roads in Newbury, Wokingham and Bracknell.
- Delivery of superfast broadband within the sub region – 95% coverage by 2017.
- Delivery of three new ‘solutions labs’, which will equip our young people with science, technology, engineering and maths skills needed to support the tech-focused business base and the new Thames Valley Science Park. It will also bring businesses, further education colleges and students together to shape curricula so that they are aligned with the needs of tech-based businesses.
- Continuation of a Thames Valley Berkshire Business Growth Hub, which has already engaged with 115 businesses and committed grants of £340,000 to 19 businesses, as well as a Funding Escalator of £7.3m consisting of commercialisation and expansion loan schemes – already circa £2m of funding approved across 30 companies.
- A further £10.2m of government funding was announced on January 29, in addition to the £96.9m originally announced in July 2014.
The Thames Valley Berkshire Growth Deal is part of a long-term plan to devolve at least £12b 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 Thames Valley Berkshire area.

Lamb commented: “This money now allows us to fully implement our ambitious Strategic Economic Plan for Thames Valley Berkshire – the funding unlocks several key schemes across our sub region. This will enable the LEP and its partners to improve connectivity across its towns, reduce congestion, unlock private sector investment essential to economic growth and support the building of over 12,000 new homes.”