The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) covers Northumberland, Durham and Tyne and Wear. NELEP continues to work to promote the economic growth of the North East area through direct management of funding, exercising strategic influence both locally and nationally, and delivering through partners.
Economic review
In September 2012, it was announced that NELEP had commissioned a Government-supported Independent Economic Review, led by Lord Andrew Adonis. Lord Adonis is being supported by a high-profile review team to take forward this task. The ultimate aim is to provide five recommendations to NELEP, five recommendations to NELEP’s partners, and five recommendations to national government.
Lord Adonis visited the North East at the end of October. He met with a diverse range of sectors in the North East to discuss opportunities for economic growth. For example, he attended a session organised by Schools North East with young people, headteachers, college principals and business leaders.
Lord Adonis reflected: “The many meetings I took part in across the North East during the visit reinforced my confidence in the robust strength of many of the region’s business sectors and my enthusiasm for the role and relevance of the review.
“We met strong groups from creative and digital, access to finance, offshore and subsea, property, energy, advanced manufacturing, transport and the rural economy. There are globally competitive industries, particularly in the automotive and energy sectors, all working well with the region’s excellent universities.”
In his assessment of his visit, Lord Adonis stated: “It was a stimulating, intensive week. As a result we have gathered a great deal of evidence and information which will help to shape the content of the review. I’ve asked each member of the review team to take forward an aspect of the work, and we will be meeting again soon to review progress.”
Work is well under way in developing the evidence base for the review. The focus of evidence collation is on economic growth potential. Significant support is being provided by partner organisations, including, for example, the universities in the North East, business organisations and local authorities.
Lucy Winskill’s team at Northumbria University is leading on service sector input and analysis, including design, creative, digital, business services and tourism. Prof John Macintyre at Sunderland University is leading on manufacturing sector input and analysis, incorporating sectors such as automotive, pharmaceutical and low carbon.
Sectors not included or only partially included in this analysis are being invited to submit responses directly. Prof Mark Shucksmith of the new Institute for Social Renewal at Newcastle University is leading on ensuring that issues and opportunities facing the rural economy are captured.
External, constructive criticism will be provided by a team of international experts. This process is being supported in a joint effort by Prof Ray Hudson from Durham University and Prof Andy Pike at Newcastle University. Input from higher education as a sector is being coordinated by Ross Smith at the North East Chamber of Commerce. These and many other partners, including local authorities and consultancies in the North East, have offered significant support to the process.
NELEP director Edward Twiddy said: “We are extremely grateful for the time and effort our partners are putting into this work. In resource-constrained times, the support that NELEP has from its partners really demonstrates a wide commitment to capturing the opportunities presented by the review.”
Regional Growth Fund and Growing Places Fund
NELEP made a successful bid to the Government’s Regional Growth Fund for a North East Infrastructure Fund to support development projects.
The £30m infrastructure fund will create over 2,300 jobs over a 10-year period.
Speaking about the success of the RGF bid, Paul Woolston, chairman of the North East LEP, said: “Timely and targeted infrastructure development is at the heart of a thriving, outward- looking regional economy. The RGF support for NELEP’s infrastructure fund recognises that private and public investment is critical to realise opportunities in the area.”
The new North East Infrastructure Fund will operate alongside and lever in private finance, other Government funding (eg, for transport) and NELEP’s Growing Places Fund (GPF).
The recently announced Round 2 of GPF funding, with up to £9m available for the NELEP area, closed earlier this month. Ten applications were received for funding from both the private and public sector. The Round 2 money is not ‘new’ money – it is being made available through loan management, through effectively recycling public sector funding.
Rural Growth Network
Another example of an important national funding stream brought to the North East by NELEP partners is the Rural Growth Network (RGN) in Northumberland, Durham and Gateshead. This £3m pilot programme, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is being managed by Northumberland County Council on behalf of the business-led North East Farming and Rural Affairs Network (NEFRAN) and NELEP. RGN was officially launched in August by Jim Paice, then Defra Minister.
The Rural Growth Network continues to go from strength to strength with plans detailed for two new enterprise hubs at Alnwick and Wooler. Plans are also afoot to bring in additional £750,000 of European resources to provide a range of enterprise services to support the start-up and growth of small businesses, with an emphasis on more remote rural communities.
Enterprise Zone
In August, Chancellor George Osborne announced an extension to the North East’s Enterprise Zone giving a further 40 hectares of sites eligible for investors to benefit from Enhanced Capital Allowances. This provides a major boost to the area and builds on the success of landing Vantec, a key business partner of Nissan, on the Enterprise Zone site at Sunderland, creating 230 new jobs and securing a £22.5m investment.
The 10 NELEP Enterprise Zone sites are in three clusters – land south of Nissan in Sunderland, on the north bank of the River Tyne and at the Port of Blyth.
NELEP continues to work with existing businesses and partner organisations to attract companies to locate in the Enterprise Zone, and on marketing the area in terms of what it has to offer to businesses wishing to invest and create jobs here.
NELEP is also working to further develop infrastructure to attract investors into the North East.
Future European Funding
Local Enterprise Partnerships are likely to have a major role to play in influencing the future of European structural funding post-2014. This exciting development highlights the importance of European funding priorities reflecting local needs and opportunities. Given that current funding runs out in 2013, negotiations are under way across the European Union on budgets, and NELEP is working with local authorities in the North East to develop priorities for funding from 2014 onward.
Newcastle City Deal
The Newcastle City Deal has secured new powers and an investment platform to further economic growth and jobs across Newcastle and the wider NELEP area – a process of devolution which we hope will be further enhanced through a Sunderland Deal next year.
One of the new opportunities is the development of an action plan for skills investment in the North East area, building on an authoritative assessment of employers’ skill needs and the issues faced by providers.
This work is being developed in parallel with the NELEP’s Economic Review; together we expect these to lead to a more locally-determined, stronger, skills base increasing opportunities for people to meet their potential while enhancing wider economic growth.
Building on momentum
A great deal is happening in terms of the growing role of Local Enterprise Partnerships generally, and NELEP more specifically. Further opportunities are on the horizon and NELEP and its partners are determined to capitalise on them. For example, what will Lord Heseltine’s recent review of economic growth mean for the North East area?
How can we ensure that national policy enables the North East to both contribute and benefit from economic growth?
As Edward Twiddy, director of NELEP, points out: “We will continue to be involved in discussions around the future of economic development policy, joining up activity in the North East, grasping opportunities to bring additional resources into the North East economy, and lobbying government on behalf of our partners.”
