Eric Pickles visits Regional Growth Fund success story
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has visited e2v, a high-tech manufacturing company in Essex.
Eric Pickles MP visiting e2v in Essex.
While there he saw first hand how Regional Growth fund money is creating jobs and boosting the local economy.
e2v were awarded £3.8 million in the third round of Regional Growth Fund grants and the money will help create 130 new jobs at e2v and a further 30 jobs through their supply chain.
The grant is part of an overall investment of £13.5 million and supports e2v’s strategic plan for growth within its space imaging business.
The money for e2v is part of the nationwide Regional Growth fund package that sees £1.05 billion in this round that will create or safeguard 240,000 jobs over the long term, benefiting 130 projects and leveraging £6 billion of private sector investment.
The 130 selected bidders to the fund, which will use public money to leverage private sector investment, were whittled down from an initial 414 applications through a competitive process.
The government investment will help manufacturing firms, small businesses and local partnerships across England to expand their operations create new jobs and stimulate growth - the government’s top priority.
Whilst visiting e2v’s manufacturing site, Mr Pickles said:
“The £3.8 million given to e2v is money well spent. It will create jobs for the local Essex economy and boost a company that is a world leader in cutting edge technology. I’ve seen their amazing systems first hand and have rarely witnessed such impressive technology being built here in Britain.
“The Regional Growth Fund is supporting businesses around the country and helping grow the economy. This £1 billion boost to British business is good value for money - with private sector investment of over £6 billion - and creating jobs where they are needed.”
Keith Atwood, e2v’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Funding through the Regional Growth Fund is playing an important role in enabling and accelerating our development projects and shows genuine commitment on behalf of the government in supporting manufacturing and sustainable high level job creation in the UK.”
Further information
The Regional Growth Fund is a £2.4 billion fund operating across England from 2011 to 2015, intended to stimulate enterprise by providing support for projects and programmes with significant potential for creating long term private sector led economic growth, employment and export opportunities.
Further information on the fund can be found on the Regional Growth Fund pages.
More photos of the visit are available from the DCLG Flickr channel