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Regional Growth Fund round one doubled to 450m as round two launched

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The government has almost doubled the amount available in its Regional Growth Fund to 450m after first-round bids exceeded expectations.

In addition, almost £1bn of government funding has been made available for the second round of bids for the Regional Growth Fund which opened today.

Print was largely absent from the 50 first-round bids. Only the Liverpool Echo and Western Daily Press were successful.

The government said that more than 27,000 jobs would be directly created through the first round; while a further 100,000 jobs would be created in associated supply chains. It added that it also believed more than £2.5bn of private sector investment would be created.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Today is a step towards rebalancing our economy away from an unhealthy over reliance on a small number of industries and a few areas.

"We need to spread opportunity across the whole country, drawing on our many talents. I know that with the right support these businesses can work with their communities and together play their part in leading the country back into prosperity.

"I was bowled over by the quality of the bids. This money will now help create and safeguard jobs in some of the communities worst hit by the economic downturn."

Applicants for the second round of funding must demonstrate that the money will help create sustainable jobs and long-term growth. The fund provides a mixture of direct support for private sector investments and support for some basic infrastructure that removes barriers to private sector led economic growth.

There is no prescription about the content of a bid, so a printer could apply for funding for a new piece of kit that would help it to move into a new sector, as long as it could demonstrate that long-term growth will be achieved. The minimum funding application is £1m.

A series of roadshows has been planned to promote the second round of bidding, in which the government aims to allocate the remainder of the funding. A schedule of the roadshows will be made available at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills in due course.

The closing date for round two is 12pm on 1 July and the government has said it is particularly interested in receiving bids from sectors that have not yet been granted funding.

PrintWeek would be interested to hear from anyone that bid in the first round or is planning on bidding in the second round.