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Briefing - South west Local Enterprise Partnerships update
Briefing South west Local Enterprise Partnerships update
Contact: Jenny Allen, South West Lead Manager
Region: South West
Tel: 0117 9297388
Email: [email protected]
Date: January 2013
Ref: SWLEP0113
Registered office address National Housing Federation, Lion Court, 25 Procter Street, London WC1V 6NY
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Briefing - South west Local Enterprise Partnerships update
Briefing from the National Housing Federation
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are designed to bring together the private and public sectors to drive growth. They use their expertise and partnership working to drive economic growth across their localities. This briefing provides an update on LEP activity across the south west.
1.0 Local Enterprise Partnerships within the south west
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are joint local authority-business bodies with a remit to promote local economic development. Their responsibilities can include actions on planning, housing and other infrastructure priorities. They are becoming increasingly important as agencies of local economic growth and investment. The south west now has full regional coverage with six Local Enterprise Partnerships. These are: Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly www.cornwallandislesofscillylep.com Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole www.dorsetlep.co.uk Gloucestershire www.gloslep.co.uk Heart of the South West www.heartofswlep.co.uk Swindon and Wiltshire www.swlep.biz West of England www.westofenglandlep.co.uk
Additionally there are two Enterprise Zones in the south west: Temple Quarter in Bristol and Newquay Aero hub in Cornwall. Detailed economic pictures of each LEP area have been produced by the South West Observatory and are available from http://economy.swo.org.uk/leps.
2.0 Housing association involvement with LEPs
The Federation is keen to encourage members to becoming involved with their LEPs. This can be through formal membership of LEP structures, such as the board or sub-groups reporting to the board. Or alternatively it may be through involvement with local business forums such as the chamber of commerce. The appropriate approach is likely to vary across different LEPs. As part of the Federation’s support for increasing housing association involvement with LEPs we have created a network of south west LEP leads, drawn from across the housing association sector. These members would be those who are well placed to engage with their local LEP and are willing to act as a channel of information and engagement between the wider sector and the LEP. In addition to creating this network we will continue to provide briefings and information to our wider membership on LEP activity. Details of the current membership of the LEP network is given at the end of this briefing If you are involved with your LEP please do let us know by emailing [email protected]
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Briefing - South west Local Enterprise Partnerships update
3.0 Regional Growth Fund and Growing Places Fund
The Government is keen to use LEPs and Enterprise Zones as a way of focusing resources onto economic growth. Two key sources of funding for LEPs are the Regional Growth Fund and the Growing Places Fund. The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is a £2.6bn fund operating across England from 2011 to 2016. It supports projects and programmes that lever private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment. Funds are accessed through competitive bidding and three rounds of the fund have so far been allocated totalling £2.4bn. Successful projects are listed here http://bit.ly/RItWjo. The 2012 Autumn Statement included an additional £350m RGF funding. No further RGF bid rounds have yet been announced. For more information visit http://bit.ly/WzKxr2. The Growing Places Fund (GPF) totals £770m with each LEP being allocated a share of this funding. The money must be used to help boost economic growth by getting the required infrastructure built to enable the creation of new jobs and homes by getting stalled projects moving again. The fund can be used to establish revolving funds to take forward a range of projects that can help facilitate economic growth, jobs and house building in the local area. The allocations for LEPs within the south west are:
Gloucestershire £8.5m West of England £17.1m Swindon and Wiltshire £9.4m Dorset £9.6m Heart of the South West £21.5m Cornwall and Isles of Scilly £6.4m
Each LEP has different arrangements for agreeing which schemes will be supported by the GPF. Some LEPs invited competitive bids whilst others used local intelligence, including in many cases the Local Investment Plans, to agree their priorities. As at December 2012 some LEPs have allocated all their GPF monies whilst others still have some funds available. More information on the GPF is available from http://bit.ly/rV1XU1. Information on all LEP allocations is available from http://bit.ly/Hy4kvJ.
4.0 Future role and vision for LEPs
The recent independent report from Lord Heseltine, ‘No stone unturned in pursuit of growth’, sets out a vision for economic growth driven through unleashing the potential of local economies. In the 2012 Autumn Statement the Chancellor set out the government’s first response to this review. This included giving Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) a greater role in local economic development with LEPs being resourced to produce strategic plans to promote local growth. Looking beyond April 2015 the Government plans to devolve a greater proportion of growth-related spending, on the basis of LEP’s strategic plans, by creating a single funding pot for local areas which is likely to include some housing funding. More detail is expected in Spring 2013. The Federation will be engaging both nationally and locally to influence these developments to the benefit of the housing association sector. Lord Heseltine’s report is available from http://bit.ly/YtaLvY and the Federation’s briefing on the Autumn Statement is available from http://bit.ly/YOljWn.
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A second wave of ‘city deals’ was announced in October 2012 and will see twenty cities and their wider areas compete for deals that would see government devolve powers in exchange for these areas delivering higher local economic growth. Each city and their LEP will be invited to put forward proposals to address a significant local economic issue which requires a transformative approach. There will be an element of competition and not all areas will get a deal. Within the south west Bristol has already negotiated its city deal and Bournemouth, Plymouth and Swindon/Wiltshire are all within wave two. Initial proposals were submitted in January 2013 with the aim of completing the deals by November 2013. More details here http://bit.ly/Q1whoo.
5.0 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly LEP
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly LEP was part of the first wave of LEPs to be established and was launched in May 2011. The LEP has a website containing lots of information about its activities at www.cornwallandislesofscillylep.com. A detailed economic profile of the area is available from http://bit.ly/yrEEZi. The LEP successfully bid for an Enterprise Zone which is centred on the airport in Newquay and is called Aerohub Newquay. More information available from http://bit.ly/yvhyTn.
Board members
The LEP board is made up of seven private sector members and five from the public sector. They are:
Chris Pomfret, Chairman Gaynor Coley, Eden Project Chris Loughlin, South West Water Richard Reed, formerly Fugro Seacore Simon Tregoning, Classic Cottages Gavin Poole, Foot Anstey LLP Robert Davey, Bishop Fleming Jim Currie, Leader Cornwall Council Stephen Rushworth, Cabinet Member for Economy & Regeneration Cornwall
Council Philip Hygate, Chief Executive of the Council of the Isles of Scilly Robin Teverson, Cornwall Councillor Anne Carlisle, Rector of University College Falmouth
The LEP is in the process of recruiting an additional non-executive director from the voluntary/private sector, details here http://bit.ly/111S7KX. Board member profiles are available here http://bit.ly/zImxZs. Board meeting papers are available here http://bit.ly/yuF8SS.
LEP priorities
The LEP has released a strategy to 2020 alongside an eighteen month business plan and detailed evidence base which are available from http://bit.ly/ISJNoU. The overall LEP target is that ‘by 2020, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly’s GDP per head will be above the 75% average for the European Union. By 2020 we will have exceeded the expected growth, in terms of GVA of the overall Cornwall and Isles of Scilly economy
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by an additional £338 million; per person employed this will be an additional £1,450 per annum’. The strategy outlines four priorities for the LEP:
1. Inspiring business to achieve their national and global potential 2. Creating great careers here 3. Creating value out of knowledge 4. Using the natural environment responsibly as a key economic asset
The key items within the strategy and business plan for housing associations are: The strategy recognises the role of infrastructure in supporting business growth
and aims to create ‘business aware’ planning strategies by influencing decision makers. However within the eighteen month business plan all actions around this are focused on transport infrastructure.
Housing is mentioned in the context of the green agenda with the LEP keen that all new builds, including housing, are leading edge environmentally. The business plan includes actions around supporting the development of eco-construction (including the St Austell and Clay Country eco-community) and championing low impact construction. Within the business plan lifetime the target is for the construction industry to produce a sector interpretation of the LEP strategy.
The LEP is taking action around superfast broadband access and has secured RGF funding for this purpose.
There is only a very limited mention of housing within the LEP strategy and business plan. This was raised by the Federation and others during consultation on the draft strategy. However we understand that Cornwall Council is very keen to retain the strategic lead on housing in the area and that the LEP board has therefore opted not to play a more active role on housing at this time. The original LEP prospectus is available from http://bit.ly/nB2299. LEP structure
The LEP has identified a number of sub-groups which it will work with to support the delivery of its business plan. These include an Enterprise Zone board, Employment and skills board, business growth & finance board, and a local nature partnership. More details on the LEPs structures is given in the business plan here http://bit.ly/WunWZi. The LEP also supports a Business Consultative Group comprising membership organisations and representative bodies who can disseminate information to their members. The Federation is a member of this group (for more details see ‘housing association involvement’ below). LEP secretariat is provided by Mel Richardson, 01872 224733 or email [email protected] Funding activity
The LEP successfully bid for £13m from the Regional Growth Fund (round two). The funding will be split into two separate strands. The first strand will be competitive and will provide small and medium sized businesses and social enterprises with capital grants and investments to grasp the opportunities presented by superfast broadband. The second strand will fund infrastructure projects in the marine, mineral, renewable energy and aerospace industries which will unlock private sector investment. The LEP received an allocation of £6.4m from the Growing Places Fund to provide homes and jobs through unlocking stalled sites. This has been rolled together with the other funding streams into a ‘Business Boost’ programme which was launched in mid
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May. This brings together a suite of four investment funds totally £17m, these funds are:
Business Investment for Growth (BIG) Superfast Cornwall Fund Business Catalyst Fund Growing Places Fund
The Cornwall Development Company (CDC) has been commissioned to run the ‘Business Boost’ programme on behalf of the LEP. More details are available from http://bit.ly/J6q2v9 and from http://bit.ly/JBpdZC. Specific information on accessing the Growing Places Fund is available from http://bit.ly/J6qg5C. Cornwall has not been listed as being included within the second wave of City Deals despite strong lobbying by the authority, local MPs and others. However there has been an indication that a rural deal for areas like Cornwall might be considered favourably in the future.
Housing association involvement
The LEP has undertaken a series of road show events to offer local businesses the opportunity to engage with the LEP. Principle engagement with the business community to date has been via the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce (http://www.cornwallchamber.co.uk) and other existing local business forums. In April 2012 the LEP set up a Business Consultative Group comprising membership organisations and representative bodies who can disseminate information to their members. The group will be mainly a virtual one meeting once or twice a year. The Federation has been invited to join this group, as the membership body for housing associations, with the place being taken by Jenny Allen, south west lead manager. Additionally Robert Nettleton, Chief Executive of Coastline Housing, is represented on the group. Robert is also the housing association representative on the Cornwall Public Sector Group, responsible for delivering the Future Cornwall framework, which provides another opportunity for influence on the LEP agenda (http://bit.ly/yibEhP). The LEP has established an email distribution list through which they circulate information and updates. This is open to anyone with a local interest and you can sign up by emailing [email protected] and asking to join the LEP database. There is also scope for influence by inputting directly into the consultations which the LEP run from time to time, details of which are circulated via the email list. If you are involved with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP or have any information to add to this briefing please do let us know by emailing [email protected]
6.0 Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole LEP
The Dorset LEP is one of the most recent LEPs to be established and was launched in May 2012. It covers the county of Dorset including the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth and Poole. The LEP has recently launched its own website www.dorsetlep.co.uk. A detailed economic profile of the area is available from http://bit.ly/HFy2ke.
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Board members
The LEP board has been approved and is made up of ten representatives from the business sector, four local authority representatives and a representative from each of the higher and further education sectors. They are:
Gordon Page, former chair of Cobham plc (Chair) Anthony Woodhouse, Hall & Woodhouse brewery (Vice-Chair) Christina Baker, Dorset Community Foundation (social enterprise champion) Bruce Grant-Braham, tourism/Bournemouth University Terence O'Rourke, creative industries & planning David Ramsden, Political and Parliamentary Advisor (leads Growing Places
steering group) Peter Scott, Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry Philip Warr, PH Warr plc (property & construction champion) James Weld, Lulworth Estate Tony Brown, retail Jim Stewart, harbour/shipping Matthew Bennett, Bournemouth University Lawrence Vincent, Bournemouth & Poole College John Beesley, Leader Bournemouth Borough Council Angus Campbell, Leader Dorset County Council Elaine Atkinson, Leader Borough of Poole Council (health & social care
champion) Ray Nottage, Leader Christchurch Borough Council
Pen portraits of the members of the LEP board are available at http://bit.ly/K2tILj.
LEP priorities
The LEP has not yet published a business plan but has published a framework setting out its immediate priorities over its first year (available here http://bit.ly/VftvaW). This sets out the following priority themes:
Competitive Dorset: Unleash the potential of existing businesses, encourage the creation of new ones and attract investment.
Talented Dorset: Enhance the skills of our current and future work force. Connected Dorset: Improve electronic and physical connectivity, particularly through high speed broadband.
Responsive Dorset: Create the conditions for enterprise to flourish including a responsible planning and development system and a dynamic housing market.
The key items within the short term framework for housing associations are: Producing a strategic planning framework/infrastructure investment plan to
guide infrastructure investment and development decisions Discussions with Dorset Environment Managers Group to improve the operation
of the Planning system in Dorset. Identify and implement appropriate actions, comment on emerging local plans, e.g. could include Developer Forum and Infrastructure Panel.
The original LEP prospectus, submitted to government in June 2011, is available from http://bit.ly/II4OxU. Bournemouth is one of the areas identified as part of the second wave of city deals (see section on the future of LEPs above.) The LEP will have a role in working with the councils in the economic area to develop their proposals.
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LEP structure
The LEP board is supported by number of business led sector groups. These include a group for health and social care and another for property and construction. This group aims to reduce the impact of any constraints from planning, skills and access to finance on the property and construction sector. They intend to develop a Dorset LEP planning charter to make planning in Dorset more business friendly. There are also direct links to business organisations and networks such as the local Chambers of Commerce and Federation of Small Business. Housing associations are recognised as one of the types of business the LEP will engage with. Alongside these groups there will also be specific groups focusing on the four priorities of the LEP, i.e. Competitive, Talented, Connected, and Responsive. A diagram setting out all the groups is on page 14 of the LEP framework (available here http://bit.ly/VftvaW.) The LEP secretariat is led by David Walsh, Economic Development Manager, Dorset County Council. [email protected] 01305 224254
Funding activity
The LEP was allocated £9.6m from the Growing Places Fund. This is being administered on behalf of the LEP by Dorset County Council. £6.5m of the fund has already been allocated to six projects, details of which are available from http://bit.ly/KjSFSe. There is also a healthy pipeline of further applications and expressions of interest. However the board are keen to further develop their pipeline of potential investment schemes to plan for the reinvestment of funds or to be ready to take advantage of any further funds provided by Government. For more details or to discuss this further contact David Walsh on [email protected] 01305 224254. Bournemouth has been included within the second wave of the City Deal initiative and has the opportunity to bid for additional freedoms and flexibilities in return for increased economic growth. This bid will also cover the Poole conurbation and the local authorities will be submitting their proposals to Government in early January.
Housing association involvement
There has been limited engagement between housing associations and the LEP to date. The Federation is currently working with colleagues from Spectrum Housing Group and Aster Group to develop links with the construction and development sub-group. We hope that this will lead to a stronger relationship between the sector and the LEP. We also encourage all associations active in the area to consider how they might best become involved in the various LEP structures outlined above. You can sign up for the Dorset LEP newsletter here http://bit.ly/UVgbcP. If you are involved with the Dorset LEP or have any information to add to this briefing please do let us know by emailing [email protected]
7.0 Gloucestershire LEP
The Gloucestershire LEP was approved in August 2011. It covers the Gloucestershire County Council area including the districts of Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury. The LEP has a website at www.gloslep.co.uk. A detailed economic profile of the area is available from http://bit.ly/ImB5vR.
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Board members
The LEP board is made up of a number of representatives from the private and public sector alongside representatives from the education and skills sector. They are:
Diane Savory (Chair), Supergroup Holdings PLC Michael Tripp (Vice Chair), Ecclesiastical Insurance Group Roman Cooper, AllCooper Security & Fire Protection Ltd Edward Gillespie, Cheltenham Racecourse Ltd Steve Hawkins, MOOG Controls Ltd David Owen, GFirst & Glos LEP Adam Starkey, Green Gourmet Ltd Stephen Marston, University of Gloucestershire Greg Smith, Gloucestershire College Councillor Chas Fellows, Leader Gloucestershire County Council Councillor Stephen Jordan, Leader Cheltenham Borough Council
Biographies for all LEP board members can be found here http://bit.ly/12EnACL. LEP structure
The LEP board is supported by industry Sector Groups. A Business Advisory Group ensures that different sectors speak to each other. A Business Membership Group brings together bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses, Chambers of Commerce etc. The LEP board is also connected to Leadership Gloucestershire to ensure communication with the public sector at the highest level. A diagram showing the LEP structure is here http://bit.ly/ZZdayI. There are a range of sector groups including one on construction and infrastructure. This group is chaired by Robin Butler of Kier. To date it has been involved in joint core strategy planning and the Growing Places Fund. It aims to continue to influence the planning process and address future skills shortages by improving perceptions of the industry. It also aims to encourage local influence and control over capital funding. More details, including terms of reference, membership and current projects is available from http://bit.ly/T5OD9q. There is also a green technologies sector group, more details here http://bit.ly/VaAHcR. The LEP promotes an ‘Ambassador’ scheme whereby local business people can champion Gloucestershire. More details are available from www.gl-am.com. The LEP secretariat is provided by GFirst, which is a countywide economic partnership. The key contact is David Owen, Chief Executive of GFirst, on 01452 328300 or [email protected]. LEP priorities
The Gloucestershire LEP published a ten year vision for the area in October 2012. This aims to ensure the county reaches its economic potential and outlines the key economic projects and actions needed to support the economic growth of the LEP area. The document can be found at http://bit.ly/UZ1jPz. The strategy does not include any specific targets or ambitions around housing. However one of the three main aims of the document is to ensure ‘an infrastructure that supports economic growth’ which includes activities around ensuring ‘a planning system that delivers efficiently and consistently for business’. This includes ambitions to achieve the following by 2022:
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£8.4 million of Gloucestershire Infrastructure Investment Fund successfully delivered and recycled
Standardisation of planning processes, procedures and timescales across the County
Measurable year on year improvement in the business perception of the planning process
Within the section on skills there are ambitions to grow the number of apprenticeships within Gloucestershire. The original LEP prospectus, submitted to government in April 2011, is available from http://bit.ly/IIbtIy. Funding activity
The LEP was allocated £8.5m from the Growing Places Fund which they used to establish a Gloucestershire Infrastructure Investment Fund. The opportunity to give initial expressions of interest has now closed but further rounds of investment might be available in the future. More information on the fund and shortlisted schemes is available from http://bit.ly/O7VwQg. Housing association involvement
There is no housing association involvement in the LEP board. We are not aware of involvement from associations in the sector groups or other supporting LEP structures. However the Federation has been working with members to develop links between the LEP and the existing GALF (Gloucestershire Affordable Landlords Forum). Interested parties can join the Gloucestershire LEP email list or enquire about joining a sector group by contacting [email protected]. If you are involved with the Gloucestershire LEP or have any information to add to this briefing please do let us know by emailing [email protected]
8.0 Heart of the south west LEP
The Heart of the South West LEP was approved in early 2011. It covers a large geographic area including Somerset, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. The LEP has a website at www.heartofswlep.co.uk. A detailed economic profile of the area is available from http://bit.ly/I2R2tg. Board members
The LEP board is made up of a number of representatives from the private and public sector alongside a representative of the education and skills sector. They are:
Tim Jones, Chartered Surveyor/Commercial Property Developer (Chair) Nicholas Ames, Managing Director Supacat Ltd. Simon Barker, Director Strategy and Alliances UK Government Business, Agusta
Westland Frances Brennan, SW Regional Director, Working Links Adam Chambers, Chief Executive Officer, Peninsula Enterprise Nick Engert, Consultant to Clarke Willmott LLP Vaughan Lindsay, Chief Executive, Dartington Hall Trust
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Dr Stephen Bird, Operations Director, South West Water Ltd Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader, Plymouth City Council Councillor William Mumford, Cabinet Member for Economy, Enterprise and
Employment, Devon County Council Councillor David Hall, Deputy Leader, Somerset County Council Gordon Oliver, Mayor and Leader of Torbay Council Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice-Chancellor, University of Plymouth Sean Fielding, Director of Research & Knowledge Transfer, University of Exeter Rachel Davies, Principal, Somerset College
Information on the board including a profile of each member is available from http://bit.ly/WgoEXZ. LEP structure
The LEP has established a Business Forum which is open to all local businesses (more details including a sign up form here http://bit.ly/RuSR8I). Drawing from this forum a Business Forum Executive Group has also been established to take forward actions and develop the detail of the LEP’s policy priorities. Details of the membership of the Executive Group is available here http://bit.ly/TySA4A, however the chair of the executive recently stepped down and a new chair has yet to be elected. There is also scope to develop specialist groups as required to support specific priorities and we are aware that a group is going to be set up to look at planning, though this is in the early stages. The LEP also has a twitter account @heartofswlep and does a regular email bulletin. You can sign up to receive this at http://bit.ly/VkYZi2. The LEP is supported by a very small team of two staff. The interim chief executive is Liz Waugh of Coast Communications who can be reached on 01752 847135, 07966 388921 or [email protected]. The LEP is currently recruiting for a permanent chief executive, details here http://bit.ly/U0oxmn. General enquiries to the LEP can be sent via email to [email protected] or telephone 01752 847135.
LEP priorities
The LEP has produced a three year business plan which can be downloaded from http://bit.ly/S6RqyW. The vision of the LEP is to create more sustainable jobs by supporting and promoting our enterprises and capitalising upon the unique opportunities existing in the Heart of the South West. Beneath this are four strategic priorities:
1. Drive Productivity and Enterprise o Increasing Productivity and Competitiveness o Stimulating Innovation o Securing Business Investment
2. Attract New Business and Investment o Increase both the numbers of businesses exporting and the value of
exports o Stimulate inward investment o Secure European Funds o Capitalise upon being a Gateway Location
3. Maximise Employment Opportunities o Develop a high quality workforce to meet business needs o Increase the availability and take up of apprenticeships
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o Instil a culture of enterprise, life-long learning and career progression across all business sectors
4. Promote Infrastructure to Connect with Markets o Address existing and future constraints on business growth o Maximise the opportunity and benefit that BDUK investment in superfast
broadband infrastructure brings o Support the development of a variety of housing options to complement
our economic growth o Ensure that business growth and enterprise is promoted and supported
through the planning system The Federation strongly welcomes the explicit recognition of the impact that housing can have on economic growth within the business plan. This is something we have lobbied the LEP about in face to face meetings, in written submissions and via members who are involved with the LEP. On housing the business plan says (p8):
Opportunity 3: Support the development of a variety of housing options to
complement our economic growth
It is crucial that future housing development plays a role in maintaining a stable workforce and is a driver of inward investment. This will help differentiate the HotSW as a location to invest. Social infrastructure and appropriate affordable housing are important community outcomes Initiative: Work with planners and developers to encourage a joined up approach to future housing development to secure our economic prosperity.
The given milestones include piloting LEP involvement in the planning system by early/mid 2013 and the production of LEP guidance on planning for growth by late 2013. The original LEP prospectus is available from http://bit.ly/JXH2zj. Funding activity
The LEP has been allocated £21.5m from the Growing Places Fund. Two competitive bid rounds have taken place to identify appropriate schemes for assistance. Members active in the area were alerted to this opportunity. The bid rounds have now closed. Details of projects funded through round one is available from http://bit.ly/O4Mrvr. Devon County Council and Somerset County Council, alongside the LEP, was successful in bidding for £2.9m from the Rural Growth Fund. They are one of five areas to develop a programme to improve the rural economy. The £2.9m investment is expected to boost the rural economy by £40m by providing the opportunities and infrastructure rural businesses need to grow. More information is available from http://bit.ly/VZWzIi. Plymouth has been included within the second wave of the City Deal initiative and has the opportunity to bid for additional freedoms and flexibilities in return for increased economic growth. The deal will focus on the wider travel to work area and the respective local authorities will be submitting their proposals in early January. Housing association involvement
There is no housing association involvement in the LEP board. Several housing organisations are involved with or have attended Business Forum meetings as has the Federation. Involvement with the Business Forum is open to any local businesses, a sign up form is available on the website here http://bit.ly/RuSR8I. The LEP can also be
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followed on twitter at @HeartofSWLEP and you can sign up for email updates at http://bit.ly/VkYZi2. There is one housing association that is a member of the LEP Executive Group which supports the Board, this is Knightstone/Arcadia Housing Group. The contact is Wendy Lewis on 01823 624235 [email protected] The Federation has established strong links with the LEP and the chair, Tim Jones, spoke at our 2012 south west building neighbourhoods conference. His presentation is available to download from http://bit.ly/ITzX7U. Barbara Shaw of Westward Housing has also been in discussions with the chair of the LEP and a meeting is being arranged between the LEP leadership and local housing association representatives to further build on this. If you are involved with the Heart of the South West LEP or have any information to add to this briefing please do let us know by emailing [email protected]
9.0 Swindon and Wiltshire LEP
The Swindon & Wiltshire LEP is one of the most recent LEPs to be established and was approved in August 2011. It covers the unitary authority areas of Swindon and Wiltshire. The LEP has a website at www.swlep.biz. A detailed economic profile of the area is available from http://bit.ly/FO6RDt. Board members
The LEP board was approved in February 2012 and is made up of a number of representatives from the private and public sector alongside a representative of the education and skills sector. They are:
Paul Johnson (Chair), former chair of Knorr Bremse Rail Systems (UK) Limited and chair of Wiltshire Strategic Economic Partnership
Nicky Alberry, GWE Business West (Vice-chair) Rob Angus, Nationwide David Ashmore, GreenSquare Group Mark Barnett, The Consortium Councillor Roderick Bluh, Leader Swindon Borough Council Graham Dean, Herman Miller Brigadier Piers Hankinson MBE, 43 (Wessex) Brigade Councillor Jane Scott OBE, Leader of Wiltshire Council Steve Stone, Chair of Wiltshire Colleges Peter Wragg, Owner of Widbrook Grange Hotel and Chairman of Visit Wiltshire Limited
Sir Christopher Benson, multiple business interests including being a former chair of the Housing Corporation and president of the British Property Federation
Board member profiles are available here http://bit.ly/VzyBDy alongside individual email addresses. Two additional board members are being appointed subject to formal ratification at the LEP board meeting in January 2013. This LEP is the only one in the south west to have housing association representation at board level through David Ashmore, Chief Executive of GreenSquare Group.
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LEP structure
The LEP is clear that its role is as a strategic body, supporting and commissioning projects, not delivering them. The primary delivery channels for the LEP are the two unitary authorities together with Forward Swindon, Influence (the Economic Partnership for Swindon) and Enterprise Wiltshire, formerly the Wiltshire Strategic Economic Partnership. Beneath the LEP board a number of sub-groups have been formed including:
Job creation, skills and education Advanced engineering Life sciences Finance and business services Tourism Growing places funding Stimulating growth Communications and marketing
Others including Economic Infrastructure and one looking at Low Carbon/Renewables are in the process of being formed. Generally the sub-groups are led by LEP board members but many of them bring in people with relevant expertise and interests and are being used to seek views, ideas and engagement with the wider business community. The LEP secretariat is provided by: Primary contact: Steve Richards, [email protected], 07748658230 For Swindon issues: Ian Piper, [email protected], 01793 429256 For Wiltshire issues: Alistair Cunningham, [email protected], 01225 713203 LEP priorities
The LEP has developed a business plan for the period Jan 2012 to March 2015. This is available from http://bit.ly/VmB81F. In the light of experience and given the developing role of LEPs as indicated in the Heseltine review and Chancellor’s Autumn Statement the Board is about the review, update and revise its business plan. The LEP has identified four strategic objectives which are listed below. Alongside this the LEP acknowledges the significant military presence within the area and aims to utilise the economic potential of this as a cross cutting theme across all priority objectives. The four priorities are:
1. Encouraging inward investment o Including putting in place a portfolio of deliverable employment
land/strategic sites that have a streamlined planning process and built infrastructure, and successful utilisation of the Growing Places Fund and Regional Growth Fund
2. Stimulating growth in our local economy o Including encouraging larger businesses and the public sector to open
up their supply chains to smaller local businesses o Also includes focusing on the regeneration of the principal urban areas
(Swindon, Chippenham, Salisbury and Trowbridge) as well as supporting sustainable growth in rural areas and market towns
3. Creating jobs and skills o Including supporting apprenticeships
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o Also includes working with delivery partners on the provision of affordable housing to support/encourage employment mobility/availability
4. Building upon our existing economic infrastructure o With a focus on transport and broadband
The Federation strongly welcomes the recognition by the LEP of the role housing can play in supporting economic growth. However at present the business plan only identifies specific actions for 2012/13 and with the exception of the Growing Places Fund there is no detail of specific activities around the housing or planning priorities identified above. However this may be rectified within the imminent review of the business plan. The LEP has identified three economic zones where they will focus their efforts to drive economic growth. These are the M4/Great Western mainlines corridor, A350 corridor and A303 corridor. The original LEP prospectus, submitted to government in July 2011, is available from http://bit.ly/UnYti5. Funding activity
The LEP has been allocated £9.4m from the Growing Places Fund. After an initial bid round in May 2012 the LEP has recently announced a new round of bidding for the Growing Places Fund. This money can be used to unlock development to deliver jobs and housing. The deadline for applications closed in early January 2013 (more details at http://bit.ly/104uReI and http://bit.ly/UKvGai) but organisations wishing to discuss potential schemes are encouraged to contact the LEP Secretariat any time as some funding might be available. The LEP has been selected by DEFRA as one of five pilot Rural Growth Networks to support growth in rural businesses. The project has a clear military focus and aims to boost the job prospects of the partners of servicemen and women based at a number of garrison towns. £1.9m is being invested by Government in this project which aims to create over 200 jobs. More information on the Wiltshire project is available from http://bit.ly/Q0x0RP. More information on Rural Growth Networks more generally is available from http://bit.ly/GJPiXK. Swindon and Wiltshire have been included within the second wave of the City Deal initiative and have the opportunity to bid for additional freedoms and flexibilities in return for increased economic growth. The local authorities, together with the LEP, will be submitting their proposals in early January. They have already indicated that this will focus on three economic zones – M4 corridor, A303 corridor and A350 crescent. More details here http://bit.ly/S6Zn2u. Housing association involvement
The LEP board was confirmed in February 2012 and includes a business representative from the housing association sector. This is David Ashmore, Chief Executive of GreenSquare Group. The LEP can also be followed on twitter at @swlep. If you are involved with the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP or have any information to add to this briefing please do let us know by emailing [email protected]
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10.0 West of England LEP
The West of England LEP was part of the first wave of LEPs to be established and builds upon the previous strong partnership working between Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, and Bath and North East Somerset. The LEP has a website with considerable information on its activities www.westofenglandlep.co.uk. A detailed economic profile of the area is available from http://bit.ly/zjqK4D. The LEP successfully bid for an Enterprise Zone which is centred around the area of Temple Quarter to the north and east of Bristol Temple Meads railway station. More information available from http://bit.ly/VzF6pO. Additionally five other places have been given Enterprise Area status which aim to bring benefits and make development easier. These are Avonmouth/Severnside, Bath City Riverside, Bristol and Bath Science Park (Emersons Green), Filton Airfield, and Junction 21 Weston-super-Mare. More information on each of these areas can be found here http://bit.ly/137PYh1 and details of immediate plans can be found at the back of the LEP business plan here http://bit.ly/TAOau2. Board members
The LEP board is made up of a number of representatives from the private and public sector alongside a representative of the education and skills sector. They are: Colin Skellett, executive chairman of Wessex Water, Chairman Katherine Bennett OBE, vice president and head of political affairs at Airbus David Sproxton, co-founder of Aardman Robert Sinclair, chief executive of Bristol Airport Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Bath Professor Joe McGeehan, University of Bristol Paul Crossley, Leader, Bath and North East Somerset Council George Ferguson, Mayor, Bristol City Council Nigel Ashton, Leader, North Somerset John Calway, Leader, South Gloucestershire
Board member profiles and board minutes are available here http://bit.ly/Wam9WL. LEP structure
The LEP has a complex structure of sub-groups and cross-cutting theme groups to support its activities. A diagram together with contact details for group chairs is available from http://bit.ly/ZjHiF2. There are four cross-cutting thematic groups which underpin the work of the LEP board. These cover: Skills Inward investment & promotion SME business support Infrastructure and place (led by Cllr Tim Ball, BANES)
There are eleven sector groups which each focus on a key sector. These are self-servicing and self-governed. These include groups for: Construction & development (led by Simon Prescott, Barton Willmore) Low carbon industries (led by Caroline Macdonald, Oggadoon) Social enterprise (led by Stephen Parsons)
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Alongside this there is also a stakeholder group which links through to the public sector bodies in the area, and a business advisory group. The infrastructure and place group links through to the four unitary authorities joint planning, housing and communities board (details of this group here http://bit.ly/ZjJ6hg.) Peter Jackson has recently stood down as Chief Executive of the LEP and Jane Middleton is acting Chief Executive until a new appointment can be made. She can be contacted on 0117 903 6868 or email [email protected]. LEP priorities
The board have agreed a LEP business plan for 2011-13 which is available from http://bit.ly/TAOau2. This outlines the key priorities for the LEP and the immediate actions arising around these alongside details of the various sub-groups of the LEP. Measures by which the LEP will determine its success: 95,000 new jobs by 2030 3.4% annual growth in GVA by 2020 Over £1 billion of private sector investment over the next 5 years A well motivated workforce with the skills to meet business need The foundations for a long‐term sustainable economy
LEP priorities as outlined in the business plan are: Effective working: LEP (and Board) culture ensuring a commitment to working in a
entrepreneurial way Tackling barriers to business growth (this includes an immediate focus on transport
systems and skills but also refers to adequate and affordable economic housing provision)
Supporting ‘anchor’ businesses (i.e. existing and future major employers) Putting the West of England on the map, lobbying for investment etc Growing the green economy Successful enterprise zones and areas
Areas within the business plan outlined for immediate action focus upon: transport infrastructure, apprenticeships and skills, securing inward investment both from business and from Government to the LEP, support for the environmental technologies sector, encouraging energy efficiency, and support for the various enterprise zones and areas. On housing and planning issues the LEP, alongside the unitary authorities, has already produced a West of England planning toolkit which is available here http://bit.ly/10YulAZ. The infrastructure and growth group has been actively looking at the issues around unlocking housing delivery. A workshop on this topic was held in November 2012 resulting in agreement to develop a protocol aimed at unlocking housing delivery in the short term. The Federation has been and will continue to be involved with this initiative. The original LEP prospectus is available from http://bit.ly/K75CNx. Funding activity
The LEP has successfully bid for Regional Growth Funding of £39m to create a fund to invest upfront in infrastructure to unblock obstacles and release employment and mixed-use sites at priority growth locations across the LEP area. Added to this is £16.9m of the (£17.1m total) Growing Places Fund allocation the LEP received. This has created a £56.7m Revolving Infrastructure Fund (RIF) which aims to enable the delivery of infrastructure required to unlock or serve development that will bring about
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economic and/or housing growth. The RIF is a revolving fund in that all funding that it releases should be repaid to it. More details are available from http://bit.ly/UMyG6Z or contact Antony Corfield on 0117 903 6866 or email [email protected]. Details of the successful schemes from the first round of the RIF are available from http://bit.ly/Z4H7uj. A growth and innovation fund has been established to help employers support skills within their organisation or supply chain. More details here http://bit.ly/XqIPsH. The LEP has also received £1.26m for Green Skills Green Jobs which will be used to support jobs growth and retraining in the area of retrofitting energy saving products to existing housing and commercial premises. More details here http://bit.ly/Rwq8jV. Bristol was amongst the first round of the City Deal programme through which the government agreed to devolve new responsibilities to give the city flexibility to support economic growth. The deal aims to deliver an additional 40,000 jobs and over £1bn of investment. The deal includes the city retaining and investing an element of business rates, and the creation of a Public Property Board to manage public sector land and property assets to unlock more land for economic growth or housing. More information here http://bit.ly/X5Nb4l. Housing association involvement
The complex array of sub-groups which form part of the LEP structure are outlined above. Although there is no housing association representation within the LEP board the sector is well placed within the structures supporting the board: Nick Horne, Chief Executive of Arcardia Housing Group, is a member of the
infrastructure and place group Phil Stephens, Development and Commercial Director at Sovereign, is a member of
the construction and development group Victor Da Cunha, Chief Executive of Curo, is a nominated representative from the
voluntary sector onto the LEP stakeholder group Several associations have had involvement with the social enterprise group
Outside of the formal structures there are occasional consultative conferences and events, such as one held in December 2012. Reports and presentations from this event will shortly be available from http://bit.ly/Wicgq8. The LEP is active on twitter at @WofEnglandLEP. If you are involved with the West of England LEP or have any information to add to this briefing please do let us know by emailing [email protected]
11.0 Federation south west LEP leads network
The Federation’s south west LEP leads network is drawn from across the housing association sector and consists of those associations who are who are well placed to engage with their local LEP and willing to act as a channel of information and engagement between the wider sector and the LEP. In addition to creating this network we will continue to provide briefings and information to our wider membership on LEP activity.
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As of December 2012 the members of the network are:
LEP Name/Organisation Contact details
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly
Robert Nettleton, Coastline Housing
Frances Turner, Ocean Housing Group
Dorset Jitinder Takhar, Spectrum Housing Group
Fiona Astin, Aster Group [email protected]
Stephen Dunhill, Spectrum Housing Group
Gloucestershire Garry King, Two Rivers Housing
Heart of the South West
Wendy Lewis, Knightstone Housing Association
David Luke, Aster Group [email protected]
Barbara Shaw, Westward Housing Group
Stephen Dunhill, Spectrum Housing Group
Swindon & Wiltshire
David Ashmore, GreenSquare Group
Anna Kear, Aster Group [email protected]
West of England
Nick Horne, Arcadia Housing Group
Phil Stephens, Sovereign [email protected]
Membership of the network is evolving, if you are interested in joining please contact Jenny Allen on [email protected] or telephone 0117 929 7388.
