Gloucestershire's Local Enterprise Partnership will be awarded £5.7million to help drive local economic growth.

Ministers indicated that the LEP, driven by economic development company GFirst, would receive £5.6million, but have now confirmed it will be allocated £5,746,488 from the Department for Communities and Local Government's Growing Places Fund.

The Growing Places Fund is a £500m capital fund aimed at generating economic activity in the short term by addressing immediate infrastructure and site constraints, unlocking development and enabling the delivery of new jobs and housing.

The investment gives local enterprise partnerships across the country the ability to manage the funding of infrastructure projects, including the flexibility to recycle funding for new projects as developments are completed.

Chair of Gloucestershire's Local Enterprise Partnership Diane Savory said: "This money is great news for Gloucestershire. It gives us a chance to kick start some developments which have stalled and the extra cash will help to deliver more than we first thought. We have already been looking at potential sites where this money could be used but rest assured we will want to see a return on the money invested so it goes back into the economy to promote future growth in Gloucestershire."

The bid was driven by Gloucestershire's Local Enterprise Partnership with its business-led Construction and Infrastructure Sector Group, in partnership with Gloucestershire County Council, the Homes and Communities Agency, the local authorities and the private sector.

Councillor Mark Hawthorne, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: "I'm delighted to see that Gloucestershire's share of the Growing Places Fund is even more than we expected.

"As we work together to develop our plans to drive growth and create much-needed jobs, this extra cash will help us make the most of our county's economic potential."

The grant will be administered to the county council, as the accountable body, before the projects are delivered by the LEP.