A new enterprise centre is to be built in Great Notley, as Braintree District Council is to receive £7m from the Government’s new ‘Getting Building Fund’.

The new Horizon 120 Business and Innovation Park is one of 34 funded projects in the South East Local Enterprise Partnership area which has been allocated £85m of funding, covering Essex, East Sussex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock.

The funding will help to create new homes, commercial spaces, transport systems and the development of new skills facilities and programmes. It will also fund new cycling routes in Essex.

The money will boost the Horizon 120 Business and Innovation Park, support start-ups and help small businesses innovate, develop and grow. The project is expected to create at least 150 new jobs a year. There will be an estimated 60 jobs needed for construction and the further jobs to manage the centre.

The building work is expected to start early next year. The creation of the centre is in addition to the new hub for construction innovation called I-Construct to be built on the Springwood industrial estate.

Cllr Graham Butland, leader of Braintree District Council, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been awarded this money to build a new state-of-the-art enterprise centre at our exciting new Horizon 120 Business and Innovation Park which will help small businesses not only bounce back from this crisis, but innovate, grow and thrive.

“The creation of this facility as well as the new hub for construction innovation at Springwood shows that we are committed to supporting innovative businesses, creating more quality jobs and generating the stimulus needed to get our economy back on track and into recovery.”

South East Local Enterprise Partnership chair, Christian Brodie said: “These projects have been carefully selected to target those areas and industries particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 and those that can progress, at pace, to support economic recovery.

“The South East LEP has been working really closely with our local areas to understand what our businesses need and where investment will have significant impact.

“Over the last few months, we have been providing support to local businesses. Our Growth Hubs have been providing advice to struggling businesses and directing businesses to funding support. We have also been reworking our own existing funding pots to create new Covid-19 funds for businesses, infrastructure investment and skills training.

“We truly believe that the South East will help lead the country out of the crisis and into recovery. The Getting Building Fund provides the next phase of financial stimulus to restart our economy.”

Part of the £85m is to be spent on the rollout of full fibre broadband to remote and rural parts of Essex to support businesses needing faster connectivity.

Chelmsford has also been given a share to remove traffic from Tindal Square.

LEPs were asked to put forward proposals for shovel-ready projects that could be delivered within the next 18 months. SELEP submitted a £573 million bid to Government for a long-list of 170 projects.