Ward spells out scale of brownfield investment
East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward said her combined county authority has committed £66m to redeveloping brownfield sites and revamping town centres, as the board approved its first ‘consolidated delivery report’.
The breakdown of projects includes
- £23m for new homes, of which £10m is from the Brownfield Housing Fund for remediation
- £11.4m from the authority’s investment fund to develop sites in Derby city centre and the Broad Marsh scheme in Nottingham
Further projects being supported include Newark Castle, Stapleford Pencil Works and Ashbourne Reborn. Business and employment sites receiving investment include Infinity Park Derby, Ashfield Automation Park and the Derbyshire Rail Industry Innovation Vehicle, near Staveley. Projects are also being supported in Chesterfield, Mansfield, Newark, Warsop and Nottingham.
The investment forms part of £321m committed by EMCCA across 25 funding programmes, covering skills, transport, housing, economic growth, community development and the environment.
Mayor Claire Ward said: “We need more homes people can afford, good jobs and opportunities for local businesses to grow. Our investment is helping bring forward the sites and projects that can make a real difference to communities across the East Midlands.
“Every place has its own needs and ambitions. In some areas, that means bringing former industrial sites back into use or giving town centres a new lease of life. In others, it means preparing sites for new homes or creating space for businesses to expand. I want to make sure investment reaches communities across our region and supports the things that matter to local people.
“There’s some really good work happening across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. I want to see that work translate into more homes, new jobs and better opportunities for people and businesses, in our towns and cities and in our rural communities too.”
The first consolidated delivery report, approved by the EMCCA Board on Monday 12 October, sets out progress across 248 projects in the authority’s investment pipeline. Of these, 187 schemes have been approved, contracted and moved into delivery, representing £320.8m in committed EMCCA investment. A further 32 projects are in the later stages of assurance and are expected to move into delivery in the coming months.
The report also sets out plans to develop the authority’s performance reporting, with future updates providing a clearer picture of what projects have delivered against their expected outcomes, including new homes, jobs and commercial space.
EMCCA is developing an interactive online map of funded projects to help residents see where investment is being made across the East Midlands.
