During his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a further £350 million towards the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) today.
Looking at the small print, it would seem that some underspend from previous rounds has bolstered the figure. The BIS RGF webpage is highlighting the additional amount at £310 million but either way, its good news for planned investment projects.
The details in the Chancellor’s statement also show how the new allocation has to be spent by the end of the current Parliament. Therefore, a realistic time-scale for a ‘RGF Round 4’ project could be: Submit applications in Spring 2013 with successful projects notified in Autumn 2013, leaving around around 12-15 months activity of eligible costs.
For those unsuccessful Round 3 Projects, this may be an opportunity to revise the project cost down to fit the timings but still utilise the funding to take stalled projects forward.
Soapstone has been successful in all three previous rounds and would advise early planning for those looking to make an application when the next round opened.