Tourism, green energy and new businesses can help replace the tens of thousands of West public sector jobs facing the axe, David Cameron claimed yesterday.

The Prime Minister said the coalition Government's New Year resolution is to help drive growth and create jobs right across the country.

But last night there were fears that the West would miss out on money from a new £1.4billion fund intended to promote regional growth. In his first major speech of the year, Mr Cameron said: "Make no mistake – this Government is doing everything we possibly can to drive growth and make the next decade the most dynamic and entrepreneurial in our history."

He said tourism – one of the most important industry sectors in the South West – would be crucial to rebuilding the economy, with businesses trying to attract more visitors from around the world.

"For every half a per cent increase in our share of the world tourism market we can add £2.7 billion to our economy, and more than 50,000 jobs.

"With a Royal Wedding, and Olympic Games and a Diamond Jubilee around the corner, now is the time to go for it and increase that share."

The PM said the global green energy market, another key South West industry, would be worth trillions of pounds in the years to come, and he was determined the UK got "a big slice of that pie".

And he said it was crucial to get behind the industries of the future such as aerospace, advanced manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

But much of the growth will come from small, innovative companies, and new start-ups, and they were "laying the red carpet out for them".

They would cut bureaucracy, and reform planning laws to make it easier to get wealth-creating projects off the ground.

The PM said it was important growth was spread out fairly across the country, and the new £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund would help make good ideas happen.

Mr Cameron was accompanied by Lord Heseltine, who chairs the new regional growth task force, and is inviting bids for cash from the £1.4 billion fund.

The former deputy prime minister pledged a "hard-nosed" attitude to bids and money would only go to schemes offering "sustainable" private sector jobs rather than temporary boosts.

But "there will be parts of the country that find it very difficult to qualify" as it will focus on the areas most dependant on public sector jobs, he warned.

Tessa Coombes, director of policy & strategy at GWE Business West, welcomed the emphasis on tourism and aerospace, as well as reducing regulations and red tape.

However, she said while the PM had talked about funding major infrastructure projects such as Crossrail in London, and high-speed trains from the capital to the North, none of it would help the West.

"Bristol always seems to lose out, and we are a bit concerned it is not coming anywhere near here," she told the Western Daily Press.

And she was worried the area would miss out on the RGF because of Lord Heseltine's insistence it must focus on places most reliant on public sector jobs.

"We have the best opportunity to create private sector jobs because we have a strong private sector," she said.

"They are focusing on geographical criteria and although we probably will support bids it means we will probably be less successful."

New private firm jobs are needed as hundreds of thousands of public sector posts will be axed over the next four years as the coalition tries to reduce the nation's debts.

The GMB union has told the Daily Press 95,000 jobs have already been identified as under threat at 115 councils, and the final total for this financial year will probably be double that figure.

This includes almost 5,500 in the West, including 1,700 at Devon County Council, 1,500 at Somerset, 1,000 at Gloucestershire, 700 at Dorset, 300 at Bath North East Somerset and 50 at North Devon District Council.

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps has dismissed the claim as scaremongering but Labour spokesman Douglas Alexander warned: "The rate of jobs being taken out of the public sector won't match jobs coming from the private sector."