The doomed development agency that has pumped millions of pounds worth of investment into the Liverpool City Region has spelled-out how it is making savings imposed by the new Tory/Lib-Dem Coalition Government.
It makes grim reading for businesses and local authorities who had hoped to win NWDA backing - like the scheme to revamp the Everyman and Playhoue Theatres.
Future funding for the Liverpool Vision regeneration body will also be affected along with Phase Three of the Liverpool Science Park.
Also be hit along with an arts project at Liverpool RC Metropolitan Cathedral and support for Skelmersdale College.
Also at risk is further progress on the joint NWDA and Peel Energy plans for a "Mersey Barrage" to generate electricity from tidal power in the river estuary.
The North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA) says that "un-committed projects" - those where contracts have not been signed - will be denied funding in 2010/11 and there will be no new financial commitments in 2011/12
Admin costs have been reducted and a redundancy programme for staff has also been launched
Operational funding for many partner organisations will end next year while the NWDA is also seeking to reduce the cost of existing projects.
On a positive note the "Regional Growth Fund" announced by the Government will be available from April 2011 onwards
Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) said: "We are facing a challenging situation as we have to save £52 million from this year’s NWDA budget.
"We have made a start by cutting non-contracted projects and reducing our own administration budget but we now need to re-examine all existing projects and programmes to identify where further savings can be made.
"We are now involved in very careful and sensitive discussions with our partners about this. We will use all available flexibility to try to meet these challenging reductions but the reality is that this is a substantial reduction to our in-year budget and there is bound to be an economic impact on the partners, businesses and communities with whom we work.
"In addition, the size of the cuts means that we have little flexibility in our future budgets and the Agency will not be able to make any new investments or renew partner contracts before our dissolution in April 2012. The new Regional Growth Fund announced by Government will offer opportunities for the private and public sector for potential new projects from April 2011 onwards.
"I recognise that this is a very difficult time for both our partners and our staff across the region and I sincerely hope that many of these projects and partners will be able to find alternative sources of funding and will continue to support the growth of the Northwest economy for the years to come.”
The Coalition Government has reduced the NWDA’s budget this year by £52million, plus an additional £3.7m of cuts in administration costs.
The NWDA Board has implemented a programme for those reductions which includes:
*Administration: The Agency has stopped all discretionary spend in areas such as marketing and recruitment. We have also reduced spend in areas such as IT, consultancy and facilities
to achieve the reduced administration budget in 2010/11 and introduced a voluntary redundancy scheme.
*Non-committed projects and programmes: As a result of this imposed cut, any Northwest programme or project that has not had NWDA funding contracted for 2010/11 will not now secure funding from the Agency and the Agency is essentially closed for any new business. All project applicants affected by this are being informed.
* Current programme commitments: The Agency must now focus on reviewing existing programme commitments with delivery partners to assess the scope for reductions or refocusing projects on a case-by-case basis. We will use all flexibility available to meet the budget reduction that we are forced to make. In some cases it may be possible to discuss various options. Therefore we are working quickly with all partners across the Northwest to assess which projects and programmes will be affected and by how much. Stakeholders and delivery partners are being fully consulted, engaged and informed in this process and of course we will look to make this process as smooth as possible, but the size of this budget reduction will mean that there is bound to be some impact on the businesses and communities with whom we work across the region.
* Partner Funding and Existing programmes for 2011 onwards: In addition to the implications for the 2010/11 budget, the Agency can also confirm that operational and capacity funding for many of our partner organisations will end in March 2011. The NWDA will no longer be able to contribute to the day-to-day running costs of over 30 partner organisations across the region.
A full list of the schemes affected is:-
Operational/Capacity funding for partner organisations which will end in March 2011 (NB: This does not include any existing individual projects managed by the partners, which will be discussed as part of the wider committed project discussions)
Sub Regional Partnerships (Includes core funding, inward investment and Climate Change Action Plan funding):
- Cumbria County Council / Cumbria Vision
- Commission for New Economy (includes GM Environment Commission Low Carbon Economic Area but excludes inward investment, done through MIDAS)
- Lancashire Economic Partnership
- Cheshire and Warrington Economic Alliance
- The Mersey Partnership (includes Mersey Waterfront project management but excludes Inward Investment funding**)
Urban Regeneration & Economic Development Companies:
- Liverpool Vision
- Central Salford
- New East Manchester
- Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre EDC
- Westlakes Renaissance (via Cumbria County Council)
- Regenerate Pennine Lancashire
Cluster Organisations*:
- Northwest Automotive Alliance
- North West Aerospace Alliance
- Northwest Textiles Network (NW Texnet)
- BioNow
- Chemicals Northwest
- Pro Manchester
- Envirolink Northwest
- Food Northwest
- Call Northwest
Other Support Organisations:
- Preston City Council - Preston Vision
- Burnley Borough Council - Burnley Vision
- Liverpool City Council - City Centre Movement Strategy
- South Ribble Borough Council - Leyland Vision
- Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council - The Southport Partnership
- Manchester Knowledge Capital
- Salford City Council - MediaCityUK Public Sector Partners Programme
- Cheshire West and Chester Council - Chester Renaissance
- Cheshire West & Chester Council - Northwich Regeneration
- Domestic Energy Alliance - Climate Change Action Plan
- Business in the Community - Climate Change Action Plan
- Energy Saving Trust - Climate Change Action Plan
- Natural England - Climate Change Action Plan
- Tidy Britain Group - Climate Change Action Plan
- Development Education Project (Manchester) - Climate Change Action Plan
- MIDAS
*Vision+Media and Mersey Maritime have operational funding until March 2012
** The Mersey Partnership Inward Investment funding continues until March 2012
Northwest projects/concepts that have approached NWDA for possible funding and will not now receive NWDA funding (NB: This is not an exhaustive list but includes the majority of projects that had secured at least concept stage with the NWDA and was likely to request Agency funding within the next 18 months):
- Media Sector Development Plan - Audio Visual Skills 2001/12
- Manchester Metropolitan University - Birley Fields Education & Health Campus
- All Souls Church Restoration, Bolton
- Preston Guild 2012
- English Half Marathon
- World Series Netball
- Manchester International Festival
- Midpoint 18 Employment Site Development, Middlewich
- Parklands Plot 5B, Middlebrook,Bolton
- Talbot Gateway, Blackpool
- Burnley Bridge Business Park
- The Corridor Manchester Public Realm
- The Dispensary, New Islington, Manchester
- The Manchester Sq, Waterloo and St Chads Headlands, Blackpool
- Kingston House, Liverpool - Planning Fees
- Leyland Trucks Training Programme
- Chester Zoo Natural Vision
- Crewe Rail Gateway - Main Project
- Ancoats Estate Management Company
- Crewe Green/Basford Link Road - Main Project
- Preston Vision: Winckley Square Public Realm
- Whitefield Economic Development Programme
- CBC Aintree
- Getrag Training Project, Halewood
- MakeMedia Centre
- Manchester Ship Canal Aeration (Salford Quays)
- Trafford Park Masterplan
- Parsonage Colliery Phase 1
- Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester - Enabling Works
- Next Generation Access Broadband Manchester
- Citadel - Court Square,Carlise
- Roman Maryport
- Lancaster Science Park
- Everyman and Playhouse Theatres, Liverpool
- Liverpool Science Park Innovation Centre 3
- National Football Museum , URBIS
- Blackburn TC Knowledge Zone - Cathedral Quarter
- Sportscity Major Destination Site
- West Float Land Remediation - Wirral
- Trafford Wharf land remediation
- Preston Vision: Flag Market Public Realm
- Riverside Park 2b - Wirral
- The Liverpool Institute of Vaccine Research (LIVR)
- Regional Aero Park - Samlesbury - Phase II
- BAE Submarine Solutions Training Programme
- Blackpool - Central Corridor Phase III
- Horwich Loco Works (remediation)
- Church Wharf, Bolton
- Manchester - Burnley - Accrington direct rail link
- Carlisle Historic Core Public Realm
- Process Innogateway 2
- Town Wharf, Middlewich
- Crewe Vision Partnership contribution to costs
- Frodsham Gateway
- Faithful Enterprise
- Cibitas - Chester review
- Lake District National Park Authority - Employment Sites Programme
- Lake District Electric Vehicle demonstration
- Environmental Technologies Business Park
- Solid State Lighting Demonstration
- St Annes public realm - Open Golf 2012
- Gen-Probe UK Consolidation at Wythenshawe
- Aviation Power Up
- Climate Change Action Plan Northwest Climate Fund Phase 2
- Jaguar Land Rover Training Project
- Leyland Trucks Hybrid Demonstration
- Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Arts Project
- Manchester is my Planet Phase 3
- Incubation National Nuclear Lab
- NW Autonomous Systems Programme - Innovation
- Centre of Excellence for low carbon vehicles technologies
- Mersey Tidal Test Centre
- Preston Vision: Innovation Trail
- Royal Institute for British Architects Second National HQ
- Rossendale Vocational Training Centre
- Rawtenstall Town Centre Public Realm
- Haslingden Public Realm
- Skelmersdale College Campus Renewal
- Co-op Office Development Skemersdale
- Stobart Air
- Thomas Storey Stockport
- Stalybridge West
- Trinity Mirror Transformation Project
- Wirral HE Campus
- University of Chester - County Hall refurbishment
- Chester University Food Research & Development
- Cumbria Higher Learning
- Sands Centre, Carlisle
- Centre for Genomics Research
- NW Clinical Fellowships Industry Programme
- Strategic Affordable Manufacturing in the UK Leading Environmental Technology
- Smart Grid Centre of Excellence
- Nuclear Fuel Applied Research Centre
- Warrington Bank Quay Station Business Lounge & Subway
- Nuclear Low Carbon Economic Area
- Wigan On Side Centre, Mesnes Park
- Turnpike Centre, Leigh
- Fleetwood Fish Park
- Centre for Exploitation of Energy Research
- City Centre North - the Co-operative Quarter
- NW Autonomous Systems Programme - Regional Sectors Project
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