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LEP Activity during November/December 2011 NEWSLETTER Context The Swindon & Wiltshire LEP has begun to develop plans to support economic growth in the sub-region. Its primary focus is to create wealth, jobs and new business opportunities by forging a meaningful partnership between the private and public sectors. The Working Group of leading business people has continued the work of making the Partnership a reality and is on track to have a fully formed and operational model in place by the end of January 2012.
September/October Activity The Business Working Group has continued to develop the short-term priorities that the Partnership needs to focus on up to March 2012. The third/fourth formal meetings of the Group agreed a work programme that will drive the structure, ready for the Board to refine in the New Year. Key actions in place are:-
Board recruitment – the application process has now been closed and the applications have now been assessed. The second (interview) stage of the process is now in place with 14 applicants being interviewed the w/c 16th January. The Chair’s interview takes place on the 9th January and the Partnership is on track to announce its formal Board by the end of January. The first formal Board meeting will take place on February 10th 2012. Building the Profile of the LEP – Establishing the LEP as the ‘independent’ voice of /conduit for Business is a critical success factor and building awareness within the business community will be key. The first stage, a live web-site, has been completed: www.swlep.biz The site will continue to be refined over the coming months and the main priorities remain:- a) That it is easy to use, and
b) That all visitors get value from the information that is posted.
Developing plans for much wider business engagement / input – if the LEP is to successfully engage, and retain interest from, the business community in its plans to grow the economy it needs to ensure that it has all the right communication channels in place to make that happen. The Working Group is still actively seeking feedback/thoughts from the wider community on how this can be best achieved and will look at ways of encouraging interest – such as seminars, consultations, conferences – in collaboration with key partners. Work Programme – the BWG approved at the November meeting three pieces of research to support the evidence base:-
Business Working Group membership – now accurately mirrors the proposed Board. Current Membership
Support for the LEP The government has recently published its criteria for supporting the LEP network beyond March 2012. There will be a 3 year settlement and the funding proposal will need to be submitted by the end of January. Focus will remain on the areas already being supported – Communications, Research and LEP development. Partners will be expected to ‘match’ the government’s contribution – covering administration and running costs. Priority Sectors – the sectors below will be reviewed as the results of the recently commissioned research are received. How we intend to support growth will flow from the Business Plan – one of the first tasks of the new Board will be to refine this and sign it off. The Sectors are:-
Building wider Strategic Alliances with other LEPs – the BWG joint chairs and the secretariat have undertaken a number of meetings with neighbouring LEPs to start a dialogue around areas of common interest/ wider strategic interests. These include:
Project Development/ Funding opportunities The partnership is keen to ‘do’ as well as ‘say’ and a number of initiatives have been started. The BWG has identified the re-development of RAF Lyneham as a tri-service training facility as a critical priority for the LEP and is working with local partners on an engagement strategy to exploit to the full the opportunities that will arise – areas such as:-
Local Transport Schemes (Consortia) – the Department for Transport (DfT) have signalled that they want to engage with around 20/25 consortia across England to develop the next round of sub-national transport infrastructure capital spend – from 2014 onwards. The BWG have started dialogues with neighbouring LEPs on potential alliances that would best meet Swindon & Wiltshire’s needs. Rural Growth Networks – the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has a focus on Green issues and the Rural economy. As a LEP with a large rural footprint, development of economic tools to support business growth is key. We will be submitting a proposal to become one of the pilots outlined in the Autumn Statement. Growing Places Fund – we are waiting for confirmation that we will be allocated £6.3m from this central fund. Designed to kick-start stalled or ’oven-ready’ capital (infrastructure) projects to help boost the economy, this is a loan – not a Grant fund – and the LEP secretariat are developing a set of criteria for the Board to use when assessing proposals. Partners are now looking to see whether projects within the area ‘fit’ the spend profile. Around the LEP Network LEP Network web-site – now live, you will be able to access the previous event and future newsletters etc. direct. The web-site address will be: For further information on the Swindon & Wiltshire LEP please contact the Secretariat:- Steve Richards (Primary Contact) E.mail: steve.richards@swlep.biz Mobile: 07748 658230 Or Ian Piper (Swindon focus) Alistair Cunningham (Wiltshire focus) E.mail: ian.piper@swlep.biz E.mail: alistair.cunningham@swlep.biz DDial: 01793 429256 DDial: 01225 713203
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