Tag Archives: HM Government

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid today (23 February 2017) announced a government cash boost of £191 million for the South West to help create jobs, support businesses and encourage growth.

Some of the locally-chosen projects likely to benefit over the next few years include:

• a new roundabout and access road on the A40 in Gloucester
• new space for low-carbon energy businesses to grow at Huntspill Energy Park in Bridgwater
• the Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems in Bath which will help deliver future generations of clean and energy efficient vehicles

These, alongside other projects, will improve skills, create jobs, build homes and improve infrastructure. This latest award of Local Growth Funding is on top of £780 million of growth funding already awarded to the 6 Local Enterprise Partnerships in the region – an investment which will see jobs created, homes built and extra investment.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said:

The South West is home to some of Britain’s top businesses, and they know the best way to create jobs and boost growth in their local area.

That’s why we’re backing their ideas with almost £1 billion for business and infrastructure projects across the region, so the South West can reach its full potential, and we create a country that works for everyone.

Creating an economy that works for everyone

The £12 billion Local Growth Fund provides local leaders with the cash they need to support locally determined projects. Under the fund, England’s 38 local enterprise partnerships – made up of council leaders and business representatives – bid for investments based on local priorities.

Bids are highly competitive and to be successful, local enterprise partnerships need to work with partners to agree strong and accountable governance and put forward proposals that boost growth and bring in private sector funding.

Over £9 billion of the Local Growth Fund has now been awarded to local enterprise partnerships through 3 rounds of Growth Deals, helping more than 1,000 projects get started across England already – this is supporting vital infrastructure, improving skills and creating thousands of jobs.

Together with money for unlocking housing sites to support home building and investment in very large transport schemes – both announced in 2016 – we have fulfilled our commitment to a £12 billion Local Growth Fund.

In the South West this has already:

• enabled the major rebuild of the A338, a £22 million project – delivered on time and on budget – helping to unlock growth around Bournemouth
• provided significant funding to Bristol Robotics Institute of Technology, helping to link industry and academia in high-tech robotics
• created a Gloucestershire Renewable Energy Engineering and Nuclear Skills Centre (GREEN) to provide the next generation of low-carbon and engineering experts
• created 60 new jobs in Penzance at the Train Care Centre

Now this latest award will help do even more to benefit the lives of local people across the country. New projects include:

• a new roundabout and access road on the A40 to release land for housing at Longford and mitigate traffic impacts
• over £4 million for Enterprise Zone infrastructure to unlock a 91 hectare site at Huntspill Energy Park at Bridgwater
• support for space, aerospace and marine renewable energy activity at Cornwall’s Enterprise Zones

Further Information

Today the government has announced the Local Growth Fund 3 allocations.

The 6 Local Enterprise Partnerships in the South West have received:

Local Enterprise Partnership	Funding awarded
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	£18.03 million
Dorset	£19.46 million
GFirst	£29.13 million
Heart of the South West	£43.57 million
Swindon and Wiltshire	£28.09 million
West of England	£52.80 million

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From: First published: 23 February 2017 In this free seminar John will discuss the reality implementation of the Welsh legislation on homelessness two years on. 22 March, 2017 featuring John Puzey Director, Shelter Cymru Please see the attac… read more

The Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, will tonight [23 February 2017] host leading figures in Scotland’s LGBT community at an event to celebrate diversity and tackle prejudice.

The event is being held to mark LGBT history month in Scotland, and comes the day before ‘Purple Friday’, a day for people across Scotland to show their support for the LGBT community and stand together for equality.

The Scottish Secretary will be joined by representatives from the TIE Campaign, LGBT Youth Scotland, Stonewall Scotland, MSPs and businesses like Barclays, Blackrock, GenAnalytics and Edrington.

The event will also feature a performance by the Edinburgh Gay Men’s Chorus and a speech from Commander Douggie Ward MBE, who will talk about his experience of being out in the Royal Navy.

Speaking ahead of the event, Mr Mundell said:

Tonight’s event is not only a celebration of Scotland’s rich diversity and compassion, but proves that we stand shoulder to shoulder against ignorance, prejudice and bullying.

Young people in Scotland deserve a society where their gender and sexuality has no limitation on their experiences or their aspirations. I am determined to ensure everyone in the Scottish LGBT community is treated with the respect and equality they deserve.

This month we celebrate the history of the LGBT movement, but also its future, building a Scotland which is tolerant, inclusive and diverse.

Commander Douggie Ward MBE Royal Navy said:

From the moment that I came out as a gay man to my family, friends and colleagues in the Royal Navy, I have received nothing but whole-hearted support. “It is this support that has enabled me to develop and grow both personally and professionally as a Naval Officer.

Events like tonight’s reception help send out a powerful message that we are all part of a wonderfully diverse society and no matter what your sexual orientation or gender identity, you are not alone and you can succeed.

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Rare butterflies and birds will benefit from a much larger area of protected land in mid Cornwall from today, says Government wildlife adviser Natural England.

The new Mid Cornwall Moors site of special scientific interest (SSSI) merges the six original SSSIs which previously dotted the landscape either side of the A30 and east of Indian Queens, extending their boundaries and protecting around 50% more of the countryside. The SSSI includes several closely located patches of land, connecting important habitats and helping wildlife to withstand pressures from climate change in the future, creating a stronger refuge and network for rare plants and animals.

The countryside across the Mid Cornwall Moors is a rich and varied mix of heathland, woodland, and wildflower meadows; a vital sanctuary for wildlife, as well as an important asset for local people, visitors, and businesses. Fens and mires in the headwaters of the Fal and Par catchments also help to provide clean water and have the potential to reduce flood risk to homes and properties located further downstream.

Natural England has joined forces with landowners, the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conservation, building on the successes of the Mid Cornwall Moors LIFE project to create the perfect conditions for the rare marsh fritillary butterfly, which should see its fortune improve as a result. The wet woodlands throughout the area are important for the diminutive willow tit, which has virtually disappeared from large parts of the UK and declined by an estimated 81% since the mid-1990s. The new areas added to the SSSI include important breeding sites for both of these special species.

The former A30 at Goss Moor was downgraded to recreational use for cyclists, horseriders and walkers in 2008. Natural England has been working with Highways England, the Eden Project and Butterfly Conservation to create new habitat areas for butterflies and other wildlife on land alongside the new A30 corridor, several of which have now also been included within the new SSSI boundary. With help from the Eden Project, swathes of devil’s-bit scabious flowers – the main food plant for the marsh fritillary butterfly – have been grown and planted alongside the A30.

Speaking at an event at the Eden Project today, Natural England’s Chief Executive James Cross said:

The Mid Cornwall Moors are incredibly important areas for wildlife as well as people, and balancing the needs of both are critical to their conservation. Today’s notification builds on the success of the LIFE project, providing protection for the much-improved breeding habitats for marsh fritillary butterflies along the A30 corridor – making it a valuable asset, not just for businesses and visitors – but also for wildlife. Mid Cornwall Moors is now one of our top wildlife sites and we are able to give it the protection it deserves.

Seán O’Hea, Mid Cornwall Reserves Manager, Cornwall Wildlife Trust said:

The Mid Cornwall Moors are special because of all of the patches of good quality wildlife habitat scattered across the landscape. This designation is very well thought out because it looks beyond the previous SSSI boundaries to consider what the wildlife really needs to thrive. It extends the protection given by SSSI status to many more important pieces of land, creating a wider network of protected sites.

Philip Hambly, Chairman of Cornwall Butterfly Conservation said:

The marsh fritillary is threatened, not only in the UK but across Europe. It is therefore essential that this rare butterfly is managed carefully and on a landscape scale so colonies remain connected. Mid Cornwall Moors protection as an SSSI will target conservation to help this butterfly’s survival across this very important area. Cornwall Butterfly Conservation’s volunteers have already worked in partnership with Natural England carrying out surveys and conservation work and very much look forward to continuing this together.

Dr Caroline Bulman, Head of Species Ecology at Butterfly Conservation, said:

Like many specialist butterflies, the threatened marsh fritillary can only survive when colonies are able to move between areas of suitable wet grassland – which provide the host plant and conditions for them to thrive. We welcome the expansion and changes to the new designation of the Mid Cornwall Moors SSSI, as this will help to protect this and other important species at a landscape-scale and help to reverse the decline, for such rapidly declining species.

The previous SSSIs now included within the Mid Cornwall Moors SSSI include Goss and Tregoss Moors, Red Moor, Retire Common, Breney Common, Tregonetha and Belowda Downs and Belowda Beacon. The area protected as a SSSI has increased by over two square miles and now covers areas totalling six and a half square miles across the wider Mid Cornwall Moors landscape.

The Mid Cornwall Moors SSSI comes into immediate effect from today, 23 February. Landowners, occupiers and interested parties have 4 months in which to make representations or objections to Natural England, who will then decide whether or not to confirm the notification.

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