Town may benefit from £46m fund

WARRINGTON could benefit from a £46 million holding fund planned by the North West Development Agency and the European Investment Bank.
The plan is to support projects that will help regenerate sustainable development in the North West’s urban areas.
The EIB and the NWDA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which includes the provision of an evaluation study of the North West under the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas initiative (JESSICA).
JESSICA is a joint European Commission and EIB initiative, supported by the Council of Europe Development Bank, which promotes urban regeneration projects. The agreement was signed in Warrington by Simon Brooks, EIB vice-president, and Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA.
Mr Brooks who is responsible for EIB activities in the UK said: “This collaboration between the EIB and the NWDA builds on the EIB’s reinforced commitment to support SME activities and sustainable urban regeneration in the current financial and economic crisis.
“We intend to use EIB financial resources to their full advantage, and where appropriate, to complement the investment of European Structural Funds in the region.”
Mr Broomhead said: “This initiative is an opportunity for the region to put a mechanism in place that will ensure we can prolong the benefit of our ERDF Programme. JESSICA will allow us to invest in revolving funding, in addition to the normal single use grants.
“This might be in the form of equity, loan or guarantee perhaps, which can then be re-used on other projects again, and again, extending the life of our European funding and helping us to maintain a level of physical regeneration during the difficult economic climate.”
The North West is the second English region to sign an Memorandum of Understanding for a JESSICA initiative, following a similar agreement between the EIB and the London Development Agency in December.