The South West RDA board has sanctioned the use of over £12m on a variety of infrastructure schemes that will help to unlock the region's business potential. The schemes will:

• improve junctions 29 and 30 of the M5 (£6.5m), which will benefit the new community at Cranbrook, the proposed Skypark business park and science park in East Devon and other new housing in Exeter;
• provide a new rail station to serve Cranbrook (£3.5m);
• combat flooding in Taunton Deane (£2.4m).

These investments are the first to be agreed from the RDA's new Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF), an innovative fund which delivers much needed infrastructure much earlier than it might otherwise be provided. The Fund then reclaims the investment from private developers through so-called Section 106 contributions (which are collected by local authorities).

Nick Buckland, chair of the Regional Infrastructure Fund Investment Panel, the body which decides where investments are made, and an RDA board member, said: "This investment will speed up delivery of new housing and begin to tackle the problems of affordability in Exeter and Taunton. It will also help in the development of sustainable, local economies."

The two Cranbrook-related schemes (road junctions and rail station) are vital to enable the development of some 3500 homes. Equally important, the improvements to the junctions on the M5 unlock the development for employment of some 75 hectares of land, facilitating the creation of up to 7,500 jobs.

The Taunton scheme paves the way for the development of some 1500 homes and 80,000 m2 of employment floorspace, which could accommodate up to 6,000 jobs.

Councillor Humphrey Temperley, Devon's Executive Member for Spatial Planning, Regional and International Affairs , said: "Devon County Council is delighted that the Regional Development Agency has agreed to make £10m available from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to help bring forward the developments to the East of Exeter. This will enable us to deliver the key transport infrastructure such as the new railway station and improved junctions at an early stage in the development"

Sara Randall Johnson, Leader of East Devon District Council, commented: "Major developments involving more than one project need to be able to depend on a significant element of independent funding to ensure delivery. The RDA's wise decision to back these vital infrastructure gateways in East Devon will benefit not only Cranbrook but all of those who use the transport system. This investment will help the West End of our district to play its full part in boosting the economy of the region".

Councillor Ross Henley, Leader of Taunton Deane Borough Council, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the RDA have provided the forward funding for the scheme. The scheme is a key building block for Project Taunton, in particular it provides the flood alleviation for the whole of the Firepool development. We now have planning permission for the flood alleviation scheme and we hope to start work later this year."

Ends Notes to editors

1. The South West RDA leads the development of a sustainable economy, investing to unlock the region's business potential It works in partnership with public, private and social purpose organisations to drive up the region's productivity by giving people the skills they need, encouraging enterprise, improving infrastructure, regenerating places, and promoting the strengths of the region. For more information see www.southwestrda.org.uk