The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Greg Clark)
Following the successful completion of the first wave of city deals in July 2012 with the “core cities”, the Government committed to work with a further 20 cities and their wider areas to negotiate a second wave of city deals in October 2012.
I can today inform the House that the Government and business and civic leaders in the area covered by Brighton and Hove city council, Lewes district council, Adur district council, Worthing district council and Mid Sussex district council have reached agreement on a Greater Brighton city deal.
The Greater Brighton city deal will accelerate the growth of Brighton’s tech cluster, by expanding its base at New England House into a major centre for creative and digital businesses. This investment will provide space for many of Brighton’s 1,500 tech companies to grow, will help to nurture new businesses and ideas, and will provide access to faster broadband for local tech companies.
The deal will also provide greater certainty over future flood defence funding at Shoreham and Newhaven, helping to protect homes and enable vital employment land to be developed at key points across the area.
Greater Brighton and Coast to Capital local enterprise partnership will also launch a business support and innovation programme, providing small firms with better access to support and advice, and helping them work better with local universities and business organisations.
Business and civic leaders in Greater Brighton have estimated that the deal will deliver 8,500 new jobs and enable over £170 million of investment over the next decade.