LORD Heseltine has urged more than 200 business people in York to apply over the next month for their share of a £950 million fund in the second round of the Regional Growth Fund.

The Conservative Party big hitter was speaking yesterday at a roadshow at the Ron Cooke Hub on the University of York campus.

As chairman of the Independent Advisory Panel, which will consider all bids and make recommendations to the coalition government about which should be supported, he said that the first round, involving £450 million worth of funds for England was "exceptionally popular", yielding 50 successful bidders.

He added: "We received many bids that demonstrated strategic thinking on how to create jobs and contribute to local economies.

"I hope businesses and public-private partnerships are inspired to think about innovative and creative ways of making a difference to growth and shaping their economic future, and that we will see results of this thinking when we are assessing bids."

The York get-together was the fourth in a series of roadshows around England which are expected to attract more than 1,000 visitors over the next few weeks. Bids opened on April 12 and will close atnoonon July 1.

He said: "The bottom line is we are after sustainable private sector jobs. When you put forward your application you need to ask yourself, does my project deliver on the core objectives of the fund? Is it in an area that is disproportionately dependent on the public sector?

"And is it sufficiently credible, detailed and advanced to stand up to scrutiny by a highly experienced and robust panel? You might like to imagine yourselves on our side of the table and see if given the fund's remit, you would approve your own bid?

"This is not an attempt to put you off from bidding. Quite the opposite. But I do want to be clear with you about what we as a panel and ultimately ministers are looking for."

More details about the Regional Growth Fund, submitting a bid and future road shows can be found at bis.gov.uk/rgf