Multi-million pound regeneration fund for north west
Regeneration projects in the north west could receive an investment boost after the selection of a preferred bidder to establish a major new fund.
A consortium led by Manchester Council and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has been selected by the European Investment Bank to lead the ‘North West Evergreen Fund’, which aims to kick-start a ‘sustainable transformation’ of the region.
The consortium, comprising AGMA, property consultants CB Richard Ellis and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, will be supported by local authorities across Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, while Lancashire Council and Manchester Council will act as co-chairs.
Evergreen will start with £20m in public money allocated from the north west’s share of the European Regional Development Fund as part of the JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) scheme. A further £10m funding from the North West Regional Development Agency is expected to unlock £30m of public sector match funding.
The consortium hopes the fund will top in excess of £300m thanks to investment from both the Greater Manchester and Lancashire Pension Funds, which will boost regeneration projects over the next ten years.
The Evergreen announcement follows suggestions last week in the New Local Government Network’s Capital momentum report which said local government’s £97bn pension fund could be used to help plug a spending shortfall in public building projects.
Evergreen will initially be made up of two pools – one specifically for Greater Manchester and one for Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire – plus a third to be spent in either area. Merseyside will be subject to a separate urban development fund.
Manchester Council leader Richard Leese said: ‘In these challenging times when public resources are extremely limited, it is important that we continue to deliver as many regeneration priorities as possible by unlocking new ways of finding investment.’
Communities secretary Eric Pickles described the consortium’s announcement as a good example of ‘civic entrepreneurship’ and ‘proof that when left to get on with it local areas will and do work together for the common good’.
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