FURTHER investment is set to be poured into the county, as £29.13 million was secured in the third round of the national Growth Deal funding, taking Gloucestershire’s total to over £100 million.

However, some have commented that money has not been distributed fairly, with a number of schemes in Stroud District losing out in favour of schemes closer to Gloucester and Cheltenham.

In total, 11 Gloucestershire schemes applied for funding through the Gloucestershire First Local Enterprise Partnership (Gfirst LEP), three were successful.

Cheltenham’s Cyber Business Park received the lion’s share, granted £22million, £2.86million was approved for a new college campus in Cinderford and £4.68million for housing in Longford.

Among the applications denied funding were £7.7million for Forest Green Rover’s Eco Park, £3.85million for housing in Littlecombe and £1.65million for housing in Brimscombe.

David Owen, chief executive of GFirst LEP said: “This round of Growth Deals has been the most competitive yet; more than three times over-subscribed with high-quality proposals. “We’re really pleased with our allocation – based on previous rounds we could have expected £16 million.

“Our per-capita rate is up there with big cities like Manchester and Liverpool, demonstrating the strength of the case made, our performance to date and the links to local and national priorities.

“The government reviewed our portfolio, and decided on an allocation that would enable us to deliver the top three prioritised projects in our submission.

“This means that our total Growth Deal allocation has now topped £100m, at £106.63m. I’d like to thank our partners for all their hard work in getting their submissions to us and the LEP team for their contributions.”

The £22million granted for the Cyber Business Park in Cheltenham will help build the 45 hectare site next to the Government Communications Head Quarters (GCHQ) in an aim to provide a supply chain between the two centres.

Approval for a new campus in Cinderford will improve Gloucestershire College’s outreach to the Forest of the Dean and improve employability in the area, the scheme currently has a shortfall of £14.8milion.

The current college site is near the end of its life and the current poor skills base in the area is a barrier to investment and Cinderford, which is one of the most deprived wards in Gloucestershire.

Funding granted for the Longford Housing project will pay for a new junction onto the A40 Gloucester Northern Bypass, a link road to the site from the new junction and improve the Longford roundabout.