Two local businesses are celebrating after securing a share of £2.5 million of funding from the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

From new business space to investment in much needed new machinery, the LEP’s Growing Places Fund is due to distribute £2.365 million of affordable loan financing to four different companies across its area, including two in East Cambridgeshire.

The successful round two projects in the East Cambridgeshire area are as follows:

* Littleport Eco Business Park (James Graven and Sons Ltd) – Funding to develop new office accommodation next to the A10 at Littleport. The office space will include eco-friendly initiatives and has the potential to create 395 new jobs in total.

* Lancaster Way Business Park, Ely (Grovemere Property Ltd) – Funding to develop nine new business units for small and start-up businesses in the local area. The scheme will create between 30 and 50 new jobs.

Mark Reeve, Chairman of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership, explains: “Investing in economic growth is an important part of the work we do here at the LEP. By providing accessible loan financing to these projects we are enabling the creation of up to 500 new jobs within our local area and levering in a further £2 million worth of investment. As we have seen in the first round of funding, these loans enable new projects to come forward much faster than would have otherwise been possible, and then repay the money to allow us to invest in even more schemes in the future.”

Harvey Bibby, Marketing and Development Director at Grovemere Property Limited, added: “We are extremely pleased to have secured funding from the LEP to help facilitate our small business unit scheme at Lancaster Way Business Park. The funding will mean that we can speculatively develop much needed Start-up/incubator business accommodation for people based in the local area. The funding means the scheme can start immediately with practical completion of the buildings intended for Q1 2015 and the creation of up to 50 jobs. We are looking forward to taking the project forward and getting construction started as soon as possible.”

Jonathan James, Director, James Graven and Sons Ltd added: “We are delighted to have secured funding from the LEP to help support our Littleport Eco Business Park. This funding will mean that the development of new eco-friendly office accommodation next to the A10 at Littleport can commence this summer and that this potentially will create 395 new jobs in total.”

The Growing Places Fund was originally allocated to the LEP in late 2011, and since then it has supported a range of projects across the LEP area designed to unlock stalled projects and initiatives that could help support the creation of new jobs and economic growth. In total, the original investment is expected to lever in a further £26 million of public and private funding and unlock a total of 12,500 new jobs for the LEP area.

The first of these projects have now repaid their loans, which enabled the LEP to put out a call for new projects to support. All shortlisted projects are now subject to due diligence, which is being carried out by the LEP in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council, before signing final funding agreements.

* The Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership is committed to driving economic growth across its area (Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Rutland, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, North Hertfordshire and Uttlesford). Find out more at www.gcgp.co.uk.

The Government originally provided the LEP with £16.1 million worth of Growing Places Funding, the majority of the fund has been used for loans which will be repaid to the LEP allowing it to reinvest in future projects.

All projects are subject to normal due diligence checks before any formal agreements will be signed. Funds will only be released upon complete of satisfactory due diligence checks and signed funding agreements.

An aerial photograph of Lancaster Way Business Park is available by emailing laura.halstead@gcgp.co.uk or calling 01480 277180.