Bath has again missed out in the latest round of Government funding for economy-boosting local projects. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg visited Bristol and Swindon on a whistle-stop tour of the region yesterday to champion a £18.1m increase in Government funding for the West of England area, which includes Bath, and £11.5m more for Wiltshire.
Some £4m of the West of England funding will go towards a second phase for Bristol’s highly-successful Engine Shed innovation hub while Swindon will get money towards its much-needed town centre redevelopment including a new bus station. 
But the extension of Bath’s innovation hub to provide essential grow-on space for small and expanding hi-tech, creative and digital firms was left unfunded.
Pictured: Nick Clegg on his visit to Bristol to announce new funding. But Bath got nothing. Photo by Jon Craig
The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which is responsible for spending the latest funding under the Government’s Growth Deal, said this scheme remained in the pipeline along with a new phase of the Bristol & Bath Science Park and a cultural destinations media bank for Bristol and Bath to enable the tourism and cultural sector to deposit and withdraw images, audio and video material from a central resource.
However, part of the funding for Wiltshire will go towards supporting the development of an incubation space for digital and innovation start-ups in Corsham through the Digital Mansion project, with teaching space and collaboration space for the digital sector and to improve the A350 to the south east of Trowbridge.
Wiltshire Council leader Jane Scott welcomed the new funding saying: “This is great news for Wiltshire. The funding provides further support to develop key transport infrastructure across the county, which in turn will create new jobs and deliver much needed housing.
“In particular it also recognises the unique opportunity that Corsham provides to our county's future economy. Wiltshire Council fully backs this initiative and we are committing £1.5m of our own resources and assets towards this project.”
