New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has welcomed confirmation that Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and parts of Ipswich have been included in the Government’s final Assisted Area Status (AAS) map.
AAS is granted to less prosperous local economies and enables businesses in those areas to benefit from a larger percentage of Government or European funding to help them grow.
New Anglia LEP has worked closely with local authority colleagues and other partners to make the case for the area.
In December, the Government published its draft map which included 21 wards in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The final map includes these wards , but also includes four wards in Ipswich, including the town center and much of the waterfront, as well as two in neighboring Babergh.
Mark Pendlington, New Anglia LEP Chairman , said: “This is fantastic news for the local economy and will enable New Anglia to channel more financial resources into the areas that really need help.
“Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and parts of Ipswich will now be entitled to receive a greater percentage of funding from New Anglia’s Growing Business Fund and the EU pot. In addition, it will make being part of our Enterprise Zone in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft even more attractive to global companies who want to move to the area and ensure we are competitive on an international scale.
“Lowestoft, Gt Yarmouth and Ipswich are significant industrial centers and even though employment in manufacturing has been in decline in recent decades many firms are looking to expand.
“This will assist in the LEP’s plans to support the growth of the energy sector, as well as offer a boost to the continued regeneration of central Ipswich including the waterfront.”
The UK’s new Assisted Area Status map will come into force on July 1 and runs until 2020.
Press release, May 5, 2014; Image: offshorewind