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£8.3 Million Steel Support Package Announced

UK Steel Enterprise, the Corus subsidiary that helps the economic regeneration of communities affected by changes in the steel industry, has announced an £8.3m package of support measures, in the wake of the job losses on Teesside.

The package will include -

• doubling the level of UKSE investment into new and growing businesses in the Northern region from £1.5m to £3m.

• a major £4.7m expansion of The Innovation Centre on Hartlepool's Queens Meadow Business Park, supported by One North East. Around 80 young businesses are currently housed and supported in UKSE's two Centres - in Hartlepool and on the Kirkleatham Business Park at Redcar.

• a new Regeneration Fund, offering a combination of grants and loans designed specifically for start-up and fledgling businesses requiring a smaller amount than the usual UKSE minimum loan and struggling to find funding elsewhere.

• an extra £600,000 for UKSE's special community support fund, which will back local projects and fund business support initiatives.

“The principal focus of this major new support package is to help the recovery from the mothballing of Teesside Cast Products,” said UK Steel Enterprise Regional Manager Simon Hamilton.

“We are very aware of the effects of this on Teesside, coupled with the difficulties that new and fledgling businesses are facing in the current economic situation. This package of measures is specifically designed to support and encourage former steelworkers and other entrepreneurs who have sound projects and want to set up their own businesses as well as existing companies who have expansion projects and could create new jobs for the area.

“We will be announcing the details of each measure in due course but we hope each one will make a valuable contribution to Teesside's recovery and to the region,” he added. “We are liaising with Teesside Cast Products to offer former employees business planning advice and support where needed. We will also continue to work closely with local authorities and other business support organisations to make sure that we identify and target all possible areas where this new package can help.”