2.15 The Government:
• has published a prospectus setting out how the Growing Places Fund will operate and is inviting proposals from local partnerships; and
• has announced the outcome of the second round of the Regional Growth Fund, including support, subject to due diligence, for:
• constructing and developing the Tees Multimodal Bio-Freight Terminal - a new rail freight terminal, bulk storage facilities and linking of two river wharfs to create additional quay space and a new deep water shipping berth, adjacent to the Network Rail Middlesbrough Goods Rail Yard;
• infrastructure to improve access to the Sheffield Gateway (a £1.7 billion project which will deliver over one million square metres of business space and up to 5,000 new homes). The business space created will be used for air freight, rail freight and other logistics services, as well as accommodating the expansion of business to business services, warehousing and light manufacturing;
• completing the Western Gateway Enabling Scheme at Port Salford which will allow the development of the full Barton Strategic Employment site to be realised. This will include a multimodal freight terminal with 153,000 square metres of rail connected warehousing;
• diverting the A45 Corridor (Damson Parkway to M42 Junction 6) to provide a dual carriageway incorporating a public transport corridor along with technology enhancements to improve traffic flows. This has enabled Birmingham Airport to go out to tender for its runway extension;
• reinstating the Todmorden Curve, a section of rail to enable residents of Burnley to gain better access by public transport to job opportunities in Manchester and unlock the adjoining Weavers Triangle site, a collection of historic mill buildings and over 22 hectares of Brownfield land for development;
• a project to improve Junction 10A of the M1 motorway, which is currently creating a traffic bottleneck stopping economic growth in the area and will complement the Junction 6a-10 and Junction 10-13 M1 improvement schemes; and
• expansion of the Mersey Multimodal Gateway 3MG Logistics Park (a major rail linked logistics park) currently under development at Ditton, Widnes. When completed, 3MG will compromise around 325,000 square metres of rail served warehousing, a rail terminal and connections to roads.