Wyre Forest launches £10m loan fund

Wyre Forest District Council has set up a £10m development loan fund to help kickstart regeneration in the borough.

The fund has been set up in collaboration with fund manager Finance Birmingham to help support ‘ambitious new schemes’ which support economic growth.

According to the council, the loans will be between £500,000 and £5,000,000.

It added the fund is not appropriate for loans of less than £250,000.

In a statement, it added that development schemes should be ‘ready to go’ and be able to generate sustainable employment or housing supply quickly.

In addition, they must be located in, and significantly contribute to, the economy of the Wyre Forest and should have outline planning consent and/or a reasonable expectation that full planning consent will be granted within six months.

Capital projects must be used for the acquisition or enhancement of an identifiable asset with a life of more than one year, can include the costs (excluding interest) of assets acquired under a finance lease, and cannot be used to fund moveable assets where there is an expectation of immediate re-sale.

‘This development loan fund scheme builds on our enterprise and growth strategy and enables the council to work with local businesses and organisations to help them grow, as well as attracting new investment into the district,’ said Wyre Forest’s corporate director, economic prosperity and place, Mike Parker.

‘Schemes such as the development loan fund send a message to potential investors that we are a forward-thinking district with the skills and ambition to deliver and sustain a thriving economy.’

Finance Birmingham’s head of sector specific funs, Steve Hetherington, added: ‘With a track record of over eight years managing loan fund schemes that combine public sector initiatives with private sector expertise, Finance Birmingham has seen first-hand what a significant impact these types of funding programmes can have on economic outputs, such as safeguarding and creating jobs, or kick starting residential developments.

‘We look forward to reviewing applications to the Development Loan Fund from across the Wyre Forest district area, as it’s clearly a geography offering exciting investment opportunities, particularly through the regeneration activities undertaken as part of the ongoing ReWyre initiative.’

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