GOVERNMENT cash is planned to be used for a new multi-million pound digital enterprise hub in Warrington.

The Labour-run council’s cabinet is set to approve the submission of the business case to Government for the facility, as part of Warrington’s Town Deal programme, next Monday.

It would be located at St James’s Business Centre, off Wilderspool Causeway.

The council submitted the town investment plan containing a seven transformational projects totalling £26.56 million.

Following this, the authority was informed that Warrington has been given a Town Deal worth up to £22.1 million from the Government’s Towns Fund.

The shortfall in funding, from the ask of £26.56 million, resulted in each of the seven projects having to reduce respective budgets on a proportional basis. This resulted in the original £3.5 million funding earmarked for the digital enterprise hub being reduced by £800,000 to £2.7 million.

In his report to members, Cllr Tom Jennings, the council’s cabinet member for economic development and innovation, says a digital enterprise hub is a physical space designed to support innovation and collaboration for businesses using digital and disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data, virtual reality, e-commerce and logistics automation.

“The digital enterprise hub in Warrington will also have a focus on the gaming sector,” he adds.

“The space created by the digital enterprise hub will also encourage knowledge sharing and support for local digital entrepreneurs.”

The report says the hub is being funded from three principal sources.

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) cash totalling £1.856 million has been secured.

Meanwhile, the Town Deal proposes to allocate £2.7 million and Wire Regeneration Ltd proposes to invest its own funds totalling £3.1 million – creating a total project budget of £7.656 million.