Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage has welcomed news that the European Commission has approved parts of Gosport and Portsmouth for inclusion in the 2014-20 Assisted Areas Map.
This status makes local businesses eligible to bid for additional funding and tax breaks to create jobs, invest in new premises or machinery and grow. Programmes in England that offer such regional aid include the Regional Growth Fund and the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative.
At the start of the year Caroline wrote a joint letter, with Portsmouth North MP, Penny Mordaunt, to the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, asking officials to recommend wards in Gosport and Portsmouth be granted Assisted Area status in order to ensure that their economic potential is capitalised upon. This is just part of Caroline and Penny's continued campaign to secure further Government support for our local region.
Welcoming the European Commission's decision, Caroline said:
"It is great to hear that the European Commission has identified our area as having real potential for business and manufacturing growth. In light of BAE's decision to terminate shipbuilding in Portsmouth, it is essential that we make it known that our area is still open for business.
This is a great opportunity for Gosport and Portsmouth and I really hope that businesses operating in the identified areas will take advantage of the funding and tax concessions available to them."
Caroline has a strong track record of securing key funding packages for her Gosport constituency. She has played a key role in getting investment for the Daedalus Enterprise Zone and other local growth initiatives including funding for road improvements at Newgate Lane.
You can access the map online here.