The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Two Holbeach projects will benefit from a slice of £14.8m funding, creating hundreds of new jobs and easing congestion in the town.
Peppermint Junction interchange – where the A151 joins the A17 – and the Agri-Food Centre of Excellence at the University of Lincoln’s Holbeach campus will each receive cash from a pot secured by the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
The additional funding brings the total allocated to Greater Lincolnshire under the government’s Growth Deals so far to £126.1m.
The two Holbeach projects consist of:
Employment land/Peppermint Interchange – there will be strategic highway improvement to unlock development land and ease congestion, creating 100 new jobs, 300 new homes and 12,000 square metres of floorspace.
South Holland district councillor Nick Worth said: “South Holland has a vital role to play in the county’s economic prosperity.
“The roundabout at Peppermint Junction is a much requested and vital part of infrastructure that will enable both housing and economic development and be of huge benefit to the town.”
Agri-Food Centre of Excellence, University of Lincoln (Holbeach campus) – The university’s bid is for capital funding for a centre of excellence for the agri-food industry, with a focus on higher level skills and agri-tech and food manufacturing research.
The aim is to strengthen research, technological development and innovation in Lincolnshire’s agri-food industry to aid competitiveness.
The university has identified agri-tech as a strategically important area for the development of the whole College of Science, and so this fits into the wider development of science at the university.
Professor Andrew Hunter, Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Science, University of Lincoln, said: “The university has growing research strengths in agri-tech, and it is a strategic priority for our future development. The centre will act as a gateway for collaboration between the university and local industry, strengthening collaboration and contributing to regional competitiveness.”
Coun Worth added: “The food sector around Holbeach and Spalding makes a major contribution to both the local and national economy.
“I am pleased we have been able to work with the Greater Lincolnshire LEP to bring this project forward and to support the further growth of our agri-food sector.”
Ursula Lidbetter MBE, chairman of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP which has been negotiating with Whitehall, welcomed the latest deal.
She said: “Once again Greater Lincolnshire has done very well in this latest round of funding from central government which supports growth and job creation in the regions by providing money for major infrastructure projects.
“The latest Growth Deal will bring almost £15m of additional Government funding into Greater Lincolnshire to kickstart these projects, giving our economy a further boost and creating jobs.”
The other three projects which are to benefit are:
> South Humber Industrial Infrastructure Programme (SHIIP) phase one in North East Lincolnshire
> first phase of regeneration of Scunthorpe town centre
> first phase of the Lincolnshire Lakes development in Scunthorpe
