Nick Clegg in Swindon to sign 'historic' £129m Growth Deal

Worth more than £90m to Swindon, the money will be used for various infrastructure projects around the town, including a tunnel under the M4 as part of the Wichelstowe development.

Mr Clegg says the money is vital for bringing new jobs and economic growth to the area.

He said: “The big benefit is more jobs and more homes. The way to deliver that is to make sure the decisions are taken locally rather than by officials and ministers in Whitehall.

“We all know there is less money to go around because of the cardiac arrest in our economy in 2008.

"If there is not going to be more money about from central government then there needs to be more freedom on how it is spent and that is what this deal is about.”

The Growth Deal for the town and Wiltshire is intended to bring over £129m of investment to the region.

 The deal will help to create up to 1,500 jobs, allow up to 2,000 homes to be built by 2021 and generate up to £70m in public and private investment.

Almost £13m has been confirmed in the first year, and on-going commitment from the government will see over £116m of funding delivered from 2016/17 onwards.

The key features of the deal are:

• A package of road schemes around the Eastern Villages development – a new urban expansion to the east of Swindon.

• Speeding up the delivery of 8,000 new homes by 2026 to meet local housing needs.

• A new science park at Porton Down, which will provide facilities for research, development and advanced skills training for companies specialising in life sciences and healthcare.

• A range of transport schemes to help people and goods move more easily around Swindon and Wiltshire’s key growth zones, including Wichelstowe.

The Swindon and Wiltshire Growth Deal is part of a £12 billion long-term programme intended to revitalise local economies.

Local businesses and council leaders have been invited to open discussions immediately on the next set of projects to be funded.