Investment in East Sussex
The long term vision for East Sussex is to support sustainable growth
Rob CottrillChairman of the Sponsors Board Locate East Sussex
Investment in East Sussex
East Sussex is committed to ensuring the continuing success and growth of the county, through investment in business, education, regeneration and sustainability.
Despite the challenges faced over the past couple of years East Sussex has been successful in securing significant funding across a range of Government programmes to improve its infrastructure, town centres, high streets and support the levelling up agenda. Since the start of this decade well over £100m of government funding has been allocated to the county which has also attracted significant private-sector funding. The next few years will see these projects make an impact on the East Sussex economy, broadening the attractiveness of the county to invest, live, and work.
Over £200 Million has been invested in East Sussex in the last 5 years.
- £1.8m to East Sussex College and £400k to Plumpton College from Government to improve their facilities to make them Covid-compliant.
- East Sussex College £1m on a new adult education budget.
- The Employment and Skills Team launched a £200k project, working with Public Health and Adult Social Care, to address the skills and employment needs of those in supported and temporary housing.
- A consortium of Sussex colleges is to receive more than £7million funding, as part of the Department for Education’s Strategic Development Fund.
A consortium of eight college groups, further education colleges and sixth form colleges across East and West Sussex and Brighton & Hove, led by Chichester College Group (CCG), will be working collaboratively to boost skills training in sustainable industries.Bexhill College, East Sussex College Group, and Plumpton College are working with CCG and several West Sussex institutions to deliver five projects:
- Alternative Energy & Hydrogen Technologies (led by CCG)
- Land Management Strategies and Practices for Environmental Land Management Schemes (led by Plumpton College, with Brinsbury College)
- Electric Vehicle Training Centres (led by GB Met)
- Decarbonisation Academies in Sussex (led by East Sussex College Group)
- Establishing Carbon Literacy and Sustainability Awareness (led by BHASVIC
- Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) – Sussex Chamber of Commerce secured circa £500k.
- Minding the Gaps – Sussex Community Development Association (SCDA) has secured £547,627 UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) funding to address skills gaps and gaps in skills provision across East Sussex.
- Youth Hub funding has been agreed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for Lewes and Wealden.
- Plumpton College has secured an additional £300k of Adult Education Budget (AEB) monies to address adult skills, and has also started to access Strategic Development Fund (SDF) monies to establish a new Level 5 programme in Land Management and develop a suite of modular courses to support the green technology drive towards net zero.
- Innovation Masters Programme – £529,287 of UK Community Renewal Funding (UKCRF) for an East Sussex wide project that will improve the productivity of the county’s micro-business community through masterclasses, workshops and roadshows.
- Newhaven recently secured £12.6m from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to help support the town’s fishing sector in a challenging economic environment. The scheme, entitled ‘Capturing the Value of the Catch’, covers new landing stages, processing and storage facilities and a restaurant, with a view to maximising the value of the catch landed in Newhaven for the local economy. Work is underway on the feasibility aspects of the project, with a view to construction during 2023 and 2024.
- Hastings fishing fleet members have made successful applications for Fisheries & Seafood Scheme (FASS) funding, to cover vital improvements to boats and launch equipment.
- In Eastbourne, a South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) grant is helping Eastbourne Fishermen’s under 10 Community Interest Company (CIC) purchase and transform the fleet’s open-air site into Fisherman’s Quay, a combined processing, storage, retail, tourist and educational destination.
- Councils across the south east will get a share of £563m Government funding to make homes greener and warmer as part of the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme. This next round is being handed out on an allocation basis (not a bidding process), and our D&Bs are likely to get around £250k each, so approx. £1.25m in total for East Sussex.
- High Weald AONB has been awarded £877k for a Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, to carry out projects that support nature recovery (part of Government funding to support nature-friendly farming and sustainability, available to farmers and land managers in the South Downs National Park area).
- Sussex Modern, Plumpton College and Lewes DC have secured £705k UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF) funding for the development of a viticulture proposition and the implementation of sustainable transport solutions.
Town Regeneration
Eastbourne Borough Council has received a £19.8 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
The funding will support town centre regeneration and revitalise the visitor economy with:
- £7.623 million … to convert Victoria Place into a vibrant, pedestrianised cultural district, including new green energy infrastructure, with awnings, lighting and heating; with excellent independent cafés and restaurants serving high quality, locally sourced food and drink all year round, also developing a night-time economy.
- £11.186 million … to create a world-class culture and education centre at Black Robin Farm, a former dairy farm set on the Downs above the town, connecting the SDNP with the town centre and seafront and providing a new destination for around 100,000 visitors per year, space for new businesses and work placements for young people during both the construction and operational phases.
- £1.037 million … investment in the Towner’s Centenary project, creating a number of legacy public artworks across the town that will provide an arts trail connecting the seafront, town centre and South Downs National Park (SDNP), as well as enhancing gallery facilities to support the education and outreach programmes that will engage strongly with some of Eastbourne’s most disadvantaged communities.
Lewes District Council celebrated the announcement of £12.86 million from Government’s Levelling Up Fund will be given to help re-establish Newhaven as a maritime centre of excellence and support the fishing industry.
‘Capturing the Value of the Catch’, the scheme submitted by the council, will:
- Provide two new fish landing stages to accommodate 16 small vessels from the Newhaven fishing fleet
- Build a new Centre of Excellence for seafood processing in the town including an auction room and marketplace
- Create a new restaurant and community destination on the promenade area by West Beach to retain spending in Newhaven for longer and stimulate a local market for fish
Hastings’ Town Investment Plan, which laid out proposals for Town Deal funding and a further £85m of match funding, has been approved. This has secured Hastings’ £24.3 million share of the overall £3.6 billion offered through the Towns Fund.
Projects include:
- Enterprise & Employment Infrastructure Development of 5657m2 of new employment space increasing the amount of shared workspace to 1957m2. The creation of 78 new business start ups, three new learning and training facilities and 253 jobs.
- Green Low Carbon Skills & Economy
Development of three new regional skills hubs delivering 27 new courses within 1070m2 of new state of the art educational training facilities and 200m2 of commercial floorspace. A cohort of 565 students will be taught per year with 215 students gaining qualifications. The creation of 17 new jobs. - Hastings Castle World Heritage Destination
A major heritage landmark will be transformed to include a new visitor hub, creating 24 new jobs and an increase to 250,000 visitors per year to the town. Plus, an increase in the use of the funicular lift to 30,000 per year. - Town to Sea Creative Quarter
The creation of three inter-connected cultural and community assets and 700m2 of new commercial space, 16 Homes, 200m2 of improved public spaces, and access to new wellbeing services and facilities. The creation of 58 new jobs. - Town Centre Core
A new commercial leisure centre (7,325m2); and the transformation and repurposing of a shopping centre and underutilised retail spaces; a mixed-use development of 167 dwellings and other leisure and cultural facilities.
- SELEP Local Growth Fund (LGF) Covid Response Fund – Plumpton College awarded £1.5m and Eastbourne Fishermen £360k in Dec 2020.
- £1.58m has been allocated to East Sussex arts organisations in the third round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, providing grants and loans to help arts companies recover after the coronavirus lockdowns. The funds will be spread across 12 different cultural and creative organisations in East Sussex, including galleries, performance groups and theatres.
- Bexhill>Hastings Link Road
£125m road to regenerate the area and open up commercial and housing land for development - Active Access for Growth
Delivering walking and cycling initiatives – £1.42m - North Bexhill Access Road
New employment and business space – £18.6m - East Sussex strategic growth package
Development of new commercial and office sites – £22m - Queensway Gateway Road
New employment space – £10.6m - Newhaven Ferry
Circa £2m to Newhaven Port for securing maritime essential goods and freight movements (the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry is one of nine routes serving eight ports in the country to receive a Government freight contract in Oct 2020, aimed at increasing the country’s import and export capacity during the Brexit transition period – the route received part of the £77.6m national contract with Brittany Ferries, DFDS, P&O and Stena, thereby securing its future). - Newhaven Port
Newhaven Port secured £6.2m of Government monies from the Port Infrastructure Fund in Dec 2020 to build new border infrastructure for handling new customs and trading processes after Brexit (part of the monies will provide road infrastructure to complement the Newhaven Port Access Road, opening up the viability of commercial space).
Organisations supporting business growth
South East Business Boost
The South East Business Boost (SEBB) programme provides free business support to start-ups and SMEs offering a tailored mix of practical advice, grant funding options, coaching and workshops.
Skills East Sussex
Programme to develop skills and support targetted groups into employment while also investing in buildings and equipment.
The eSussex project, led by East Sussex County Council in partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council, was developed to improve connectivity by investing in infrastructure.
Project Gigabit is the UK Government’s plan to roll-out gigabit-capable broadband services from April 2023. Funding has been allocated to upgrade connections to properties that are not expected to receive a gigabit capable service from any planned upgrade programmes (such as those funded by commercial investment ), or properties that cannot currently access a superfast broadband service of at least 30mbps. The nationwide project is led by Building Digital UK, (BDUK) and we’ll be working with them to support the project in East Sussex.
For support and advice on how to progress with your business goals get in touch and one of our team will contact you to discuss you needs.