The Good Growth program is on track to invest £194m, but uncertainty remains over future funding

The Good Growth Program for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which is managed by Cornwall Council, is set to deliver £194m of investment into the local economy, creating a forecast 1,400 new jobs and saving a further 330.

To date, 143 projects have been approved for £137m of funding, helping to attract a further £57m of investment, bringing the total to £194m.

Investments range from large-scale strategic funding for emerging sectors such as technology metals mining and floating offshore wind, to grassroots community projects, arts and culture and business and skills support.

The three-year program will have created hundreds of jobs, upskilled thousands of people, delivered hundreds of square meters of commercial space, supported hundreds of businesses, removed thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide and created acres of green and blue spaces.

But with all the funds now committed and a deadline of March 2025 for them to be spent, Cornwall Council has written to the new government seeking clarity on the future of local growth funding for Cornwall and Scilly.

Cllr Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council Portfolio Holder for the Economy, said: “The council has worked incredibly hard to ensure that our investment from Government has been allocated wisely and efficiently ahead of all other areas of the country. But for the first time in more than 20 years we are facing a cliff edge where we don’t know what lies ahead.

“Funding for our Good Growth program ends in March 2025 and we currently have no idea what will replace it. This uncertainty risks affecting our economic ambitions and the contribution we can make to UK growth.

“That is why we are making our case to the new government for a transition year of shared prosperity funding to 2026, reflecting current levels of investment. And we are seeking commitment to a multi-year deal to fund future growth with a local decision. so that we can continue our growth trajectory.”

Cllr Gardner said Government funding for local growth in Cornwall and Scilly currently stands at around £133m a year, taking into account a number of different funding streams. He said the Council was seeking assurances that this level of funding, as a minimum, would be maintained in the future.

He added that recent data showed Cornwall was continuing to close the gap with the UK economy thanks to continued investment. New figures published in 2024 estimate that Cornwall’s GDP per head has risen from 70% of the UK average to 74% in 2021, holding this in 2022. And since 2008, Cornwall’s productivity has increased by 40% , a higher rate than the UK average of 33%, albeit from a low base.

Cllr Gardner said: “We have unfinished business when it comes to our economic ambitions. While we’ve come a long way on our journey to a net-zero creative economy that delivers prosperity for all, there’s more to do, as shown in our new economic strategy, which sets the direction for future growth. We look forward to working with the new government to achieve this.”

Cornwall’s current Good Growth Program was announced in April 2022 when the then Government awarded Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly £132 million from the UK’s Shared Prosperity Fund and a further £5.6 million from the prosperity in rural England for three years.

Cornwall Council and Isles of Scilly Council were commissioned to develop an investment plan which focused on communities and place, local business and people and skills. This plan was approved by ministers in late 2022 after consulting communities, businesses and organizations about what they wanted to see from a local investment programme.

It includes an ambitious commitment to a set of good growth principles, with a focus on green and inclusive growth, the creation of quality jobs and a commitment to paying the real living wage.

The program was three times oversubscribed, with nearly 500 applications received for £405 million.

Learn more at ciosgoodgrowth.com