Advantage West Midlands details £37m cuts

7/10/10 10:26 am By Nick Johnstone

Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands has today revealed 121 projects that are losing almost £37m of public sector funding in this financial year.

Schemes that have lost more than £1m each include Edgbaston Cricket Ground’s redevelopment, West Bromwich town centre’s Liberata Building, and a set of new science and agriculture developments around Coventry.

The regeneration of West Bromwich town centre is losing £7.4m in the financial year 2010-11, while the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board’s new £4.3m HQ has lost all of this funding.

Overall, £34.8m of cuts were made to existing, legally contracted projects, and a further £2.3m of savings was made because of lower than expected take-up of business grant offers.

Schemes in the Black Country have lost out most, with funding of £9m taken away. Projects that span the whole region have lost £19m.

RDAs across the UK have been forced to cut £270m from their budgets in the current financial year, as part of the £6.25bn cuts announced by chancellor George Osborne in May.

Further cuts to the RDAs’ budgets are expected to be announced at the October spending review, before the bodies are abolished fully by April 2012.

“We still have a significant portfolio of project investments and assets that may transfer to successor bodies. We are awaiting Government clarification on this and a range of other matters.

“In the meantime, we are doing our utmost to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements. Our main task remains to support economic recovery and future growth through the effective delivery of our remaining projects.”

To see the full list of affected projects, click AWM project cuts

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