In mid-June, the Combined Authority was asked to submit bids for funding for capital projects that could deliver outputs such as jobs and economic growth within 18 months.

The government has announced today that it will fund all four bids from its Getting Building Fund.

The four projects that will receive Getting Building Funding are:

• Littlewoods Studios – £11m
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) Capacity Development – £2m
• Glass Futures – £9m
• Halsnead Garden Village – Employment Development – £4m

Speaking about the announcement, Steve Rotheram said:

“This announcement is good news for our region. These four projects will create thousands of jobs and play a key role in the first stages of our economic recovery after Coronavirus.

“While today’s funding is welcome, it is only the tip of the iceberg of the support we need from Government.

“A fortnight ago, I set out Building Back Better – our blueprint for that recovery. We are asking for £1.4bn to unlock nearly £9bn worth of projects, create over 120,000 jobs and help build thousands of homes for local people.

“Devolution – and Combined Authorities like ours – should be central to the Government’s plans for recovery. By taking powers and money from Westminster and giving them to local people, we are able to shape a recovery that works for us, as we are in seeing with projects like these.”

The funding was also welcomed by other city region leaders:

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said:

“Littlewoods Studios is a hugely exciting regeneration project and this funding will ensure we can deliver the studios for the people of Liverpool. With streaming services like Netflix booming during lockdown, there’s going to be more demand than ever for studio space. While Liverpool has a blossoming digital and film industry we want to capitalise on filming opportunities and the economic benefits they bring. Littlewoods Studios is going to change all that, providing Hollywood-standard facilities that will complete our world class offer. Now, more than ever, we need to be looking to the future and focusing on major regeneration projects that will deliver highly-skilled jobs and investment for the long term.”

St Helens Borough Council Leader David Baines, said:

“St Helens is a borough with a proud industrial heritage. We have a magnificent legacy of industrial innovation, especially in the glass industry.

“While we are proud of our history, Glass Futures is all about innovation and looking to the future, and we want our borough to be at the very heart of this exciting project. St Helens Borough Council is committed to helping to make it happen and this latest funding decision is very welcome. The Glass Futures project will put St Helens on the regional, national and international stage.”

Councillor Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council, said:

“Halsnead Garden Village is a highly-ambitious project for Knowsley and a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new unique settlement and make a major contribution towards the region’s economy.

“This funding will facilitate and support the delivery of the Halsnead South logistics development which itself will deliver hundreds more jobs and a further £20m per year boost to the economy.”

Professor David Lalloo, Director, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said:

“As the oldest institution of its kind in the world, LSTM has been tackling global health challenges since 1898.  We are currently facing one of the greatest public health challenges we have ever seen, affecting the whole world, and this funding will enable us to rapidly train a future workforce capable of undertaking research and development on live virus isolates such as COVID-19.”