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Almost 1,200 jobs will be created in South Hampshire when plans to invest more than £25m in the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus are finalised.
The investment plans were revealed by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles, who visited Enterprise Zone-based company Marine Concepts to meet partners involved in the delivery of the project.
It is expected that more than £15m will be used to unlock 21.6 acres of land for the development of new commercial space and up to 90 new homes. The proposed investment would also support the development of 25,000 sq ft of new advanced manufacturing business space beside the airfield on the site.
It is estimated that the investment would create around 220 construction jobs and nearly 680 jobs when work is complete.
The proposed investment is expected to come from a number of bodies, including £8m from the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP’s) Growing Places Fund, £4.1m from Hampshire County Council and £1.5m from the Regional Growth Fund. The package will be supported by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which owns much of the Enterprise Zone site and is working with partners to deliver the long-term project.
In addition, the Secretary of State also announced proposals today to invest £3m from the Growing Places Fund in Fareham College’s proposals for a new advanced skills training centre on the site. If a £12m investment package is secured to deliver the proposed centre, it would provide specialist training for the advanced manufacturing sector, improving the skills of local people and helping to secure the future of advanced manufacturing across the Solent.
Gary Jeffries, Director of Solent LEP leading on the Solent Enterprise Zone, said: "We are seeking to commit a significant investment from the Solent Growing Places Fund which will bring us a step closer to our goal of creating 3,500 jobs at the Solent Enterprise Zone by 2026. Today’s announcement also paves the way for the launch of our £2.9m Regional Growth Fund expansion programme for SMEs on the zone, which we hope to launch shortly. We now look forward to working with companies like Marine Concepts to drive growth at the Zone."
(CD)
