The government is to fund more than a third of the cost of a new relief road which should bring a major economic boost to Bury St Edmunds.

And there is to be more funding for the Haverhill Innovation Park which is hoping to attract businesses keen to be based near the high-technology powerhouse around Cambridge.

The Government has today agreed a £5.7 million bid to help build the £15 million Eastern Relief Road at Moreton Hall.

Building the road means that the Suffolk Business Park can be expanded and 68 hectares of land used to attract national companies to re-locate to the town with the creation of up to 9000 new jobs by 2021 and ultimately 15,000 jobs.

It also paves the way for the building of 500 new homes, a secondary school and a community football project. It is estimated that the total project will bring an estimated £275m of investment into the area.

The government investment has been welcomed by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and the leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

New Anglia LEP secured the funding as part of the Government’s Growth Deal. The LEP has already contributed £4m to the project through its Local Transport Body.

LEP chairman Mark Pendlington said: “The Eastern Relief Road was one of our priority projects in our bid to Government, this success is a strong vote of confidence in all the hard work we and our local partners have put into these plans.

“This road will bring an enormous social and economic boost to the area for many years to come, with new businesses, jobs and homes, making it a magnet for enterprise and a great place to live and work.

“It is a great vote of confidence from Government that this project has been awarded the funds that it rightly deserves.”

John Griffiths, leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said: “We in West Suffolk have a strong track record of delivering successful projects and getting the job done.

“And it is because of this reputation, and a great deal of hard work with our partners, that we have not only gained the support of the New Anglia LEP but also the support of Whitehall officials.

“We are investing in success not just for Bury St Edmunds, but West Suffolk as a whole. There is still a long way to go but this project will help create an abundance of jobs, investment and prosperity for our area.”

The council aims to award the contract for the road construction before May next year.

The funding for the Haverhill Innovation Park is a joint project with the Greater Cambridge LEP, aimed at extending the “Silicon Fen” effect to an area of south west Suffolk that has not always enjoyed the same prosperity as other parts of the region.