Only a third of the budget allocated for development in the Solent area was spent last year, it has been revealed.
The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership was expected to spend more than £32m, however a report has shown it only used £10.7m for the 2017-2018 financial year.
However, the group confirmed that approximately £20m will still be used in the future, with around £3m still unallocated.
Over 90 per cent allocated
Head of capital and infrastructure at Solent LEP, Steve Futter, said:
“It is important to note that of the £32.7m budgeted, over 90 per cent of this has been approved by the LEP board and allocated to projects which are either already underway or very close to breaking ground in the coming months.”
Remaining funds
Schemes which will use the remaining funds in the future include new carriageway alignment on Newgate Lane South between Gosport and Fareham, a civil engineering training centre at Fareham College and a school of maritime science and engineering at Southampton Solent University.
Solent LEP ‘one of the must successful’
Mr Futter was confident the LEP was one of the most successful across the UK. He added:
“To date, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership have funded projects totalling £85m in respect of the local growth deal funding which it has been awarded by central government.
“This figure is understood to be one of the strongest delivery performances of all 38 LEPs across the country.
“The Solent LEP board has an ambition to build on this significant success throughout the years ahead with a further £5m to be paid toward the completion of the Warsash School of Maritime Science and Engineering, and £2.5m allocated for the Saab SeaEye Ltd project for the development and testing of marine robotics technology.
“In addition, the LEP is always looking to strengthen its pipeline of projects and, with this in mind, is actively working on a new funding call to be launched in the autumn of this year.”
£2.8m not used
A total of £2,879,310 that was budgeted for the LEP was not used or allocated. The LEP is a longer-term investment rather than part of the day-to-day running of councils, known as capital expenditure.
All together around £50m less was spent on capital expenditure last year than budgeted. Most of this money would have come from grants, contributions and reserves.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some additions by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: © Solent LEP
