Decision 'imminent'on wind turbine £60m fund

ENERGY MINISTER Charles Hendry yesterday refused to reveal whether a 60m fund which could help transform Humber ports into wind turbine manufacturing centres has survived the spending cuts.

However, Mr Hendry promised an answer “in the near future”.

Business leaders in the region hope the money – to adapt infrastructure in and around ports so they can become centres to manufacture turbines for offshore wind farms in the North Sea – could unlock millions of pounds of investment in the Humber economy and create thousands of jobs.

But the fund, announced in the March Budget by Labour, has been under review since the coalition came to power.

Pressed by MPs yesterday, Mr Hendry refused to reveal the outcome of the spending review but promised “clarity” on the fate of the fund “in the near future”.

Labour’s new leader Ed Miliband, the Doncaster North MP, has been among those campaigning for the fund to continue, and MPs on the north and south banks of the Humber have also been vocal.

Multinational companies including Siemens and GE are among those interesting in locating in the region, but there are fears they may look at alternative countries where Governments offer more incentives if the money is scrapped.

Addressing Mr Hendry yesterday, Labour MP Alan Whitehead asked: “Will the competition now proceed?

“My view is that it is imperative that it does. Cancellation or even a delay of the competition would seriously hamper the development of the infrastructure necessary to make what all sides are committed to, start to work in practice.”

Caroline Lucas, the first Green Party MP to win a seat in the House of Commons, said: “If the funding is cut, that will show that the coalition Government have little or no real understanding of the returns to the economy and the environment from maintaining investor confidence in green initiatives such as offshore wind infrastructure.”

But Mr Hendry insisted the Government was aware of the importance of offshore wind and said the Government was determined to provide attractive conditions to lure investors.