Dorset: Government gives £19.5m boost to local economy

Communities secretary Sajid Javid has announced a government cash boost of £19.5 million for Dorset to help create jobs, support businesses and encourage growth. The latest award of Local Growth Funding is on top of £79m already awarded to Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership.

Among the locally-chosen projects likely to benefit over the next few years are:

• A new business district in Lansdowne;
• Transport improvements in Gillingham to unlock further housing developments; and
• A new housing development at Holes Bay in Poole.

Local growth minister Andrew Percy said: “Today’s £19.5m investment will support the delivery of new homes and jobs right across the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership. These growth deals are a crucial part of our efforts to create an economy that works for everyone, and will ensure every region of the country has the chance to realise its full potential.”

Gordon Page, chairman of Dorset LEP said: "We submitted an ambitious business plan to accelerate economic growth across Dorset and are pleased to have been awarded £19.5m to deliver a range of projects to fuel long-term growth across the county. This vote of confidence by the Government reflects our county’s economic potential and firmly places Dorset on the world map as an outstanding place to do business.”

 New projects include:

• Work to increase international investment in, and business at, the ground-breaking Orthopaedic Research Institute at Bournemouth University;
• Providing match funding for key capital enhancements to Dorset tourist attractions, boosting productivity by increasing visitor numbers, stay and spend;
• Wallisdown Connectivity, a significant upgrade to the major Bournemouth-Poole commuter road which connects the two University Campuses to Poole, and suffers from congestion at peak times;
• Transforming the Lansdowne area of Bournemouth into a major new business district through a package of infrastructure and urban realm improvements;
• Gillingham Access to Growth - transport infrastructure improvements to unlock housing and employment developments; and
• Holes Bay, enabling the release of a major housing site in Poole, delivering up to 1,350 new homes.