The exchequer secretary to the Treasury visited Leicester this week to reveal a £19.4m government investment to advance the city’s space and satellite tech sectors and associated facilities.
The investment is part of the Levelling Up Fund, a government scheme to ensure there are equal opportunities to support industries and infrastructure across the UK, with the first funding round being worth £1.7bn.
Exchequer Secretary Felicity Buchan toured Leicester’s Pioneer Park, which involved a brief on how the investment will be directed at supporting research and development and advanced manufacturing within the Leicester space and satellite technology sector.
“It’s fantastic to see how our investment will turbocharge growth in Leicester’s rapidly expanding space sector, encouraging innovative businesses to expand and grow in the city, creating high-skilled jobs,” said Buchan.
“And we are going further to ignite growth through our brand-new Investment Zones, which will encourage businesses to invest, driving our economy forward and creating opportunity for everyone.”
The funding boost in Leicester marks it as one of 10 areas in the East Midlands due to share in a portion of the £203m allocated to the county.
Further announcements of funding allocations from the government are anticipated before the end of 2022.
The announcement follows recent government plans to establish ‘Investment Zones’ across different UK regions as part of the wider levelling up agenda. Leicestershire County Council is one of 38 councils to have announced a desire to participate in the scheme.
