The new round of funding will enable England's 39 LEPs to apply for a share of that pot to support projects in their region that will boost the local economy, bring in private sector funding and create jobs.
It is likely to be a highly competitive process, with a focus on high-quality schemes that leverage funding from other sources to deliver economic growth. Ministers are interested in larger projects including those which cover more than one LEP area or address strategic priorities.
Under our existing Growth Deals, Coast to Capital has received £240 million to invest in a range of projects and we are currently delivering a portfolio of 53 projects across the region.
Coast to Capital has already launched a call for growth projects with a deadline of 31st March 2016. However in light of the latest announcement, I want to extend this to Friday 29th April in order to give you as much time as possible to work on developing bids which are as innovative as possible and which will put us in the best possible position to win funds in a national competitive process.