Peterborough has been placed 4th out of 32 bids in the race for the Green Investment Bank (GIB). The Secretary of State has today revealed that the new Bank’s headquarters will be located in Edinburgh, with the main transaction team based in a London office. Second to the Edinburgh-London joint solution was Manchester, followed closely by Peterborough.
Being shortlisted in the top 6 cities demonstrates that Government recognises Peterborough would have offered a successful base for the GIB. Opportunity Peterborough, the economic development company driving Peterborough’s bid, is pleased the city’s strengths were recognised by Government officials.
Neil Darwin, director of economic development at Opportunity Peterborough, said: “Of course we’re disappointed with the overall result, but ranking 4th out of 32 UK towns and cities is a fantastic achievement. Our environmental strengths were recognised as second to none, equalled only by London. This process has allowed us to prove that Peterborough is a serious contender to the UK’s largest and strongest cities.”
The GIB is the world’s first public bank dedicated to the green economy. The bank will be set up with £3bn of public money to help firms fund renewable energy schemes, with estimates that an extra £15 billion of private investment could be generated for major projects beyond 2015.
Opportunity Peterborough submitted a bid in January with strong support from the City’s two MPs Stewart Jackson and Shailesh Vara, Peterborough City Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership. Strong endorsement was also received from Peterborough’s (and the LEP’s) largest businesses and universities.
Stewart Jackson, MP for Peterborough, said: “I’ve been a strong supporter of the Peterborough bid so I’m naturally disappointed with the outcome. However, with the high praise given to our environmental credentials, I look forward to Peterborough companies working with the Bank in the transition to a green economy. I’m aware of other opportunities coming out of Government so I’d expect Peterborough to be the recipient of one of them.”
Councillor Marco Cereste, Leader of the City Council, also commented: “This is a disappointing result, but it clearly shows that Peterborough has the economic strengths, expertise and the right overall offer to attract new investment. We need to build on this and continue to demonstrate that Peterborough is the right city to do business in.”