Humber LEP seeks input for Growth Deal

Businesses are being asked to help draw up an ambitious plan for growing the Humber economy, to help the area to win its share of £12bn of Government funding to support it.

The Humber LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan, which will sit at the heart of economic regeneration for the region for the next 7 years, needs input from representatives in the region.

Two workshops will be held with one full morning session in Hull on 26 November and one in Grimsby on 28 November.

The focus of the workshops will be to contribute to the economic development of the Humber and inform the priorities that are included within the Strategic Economic Plan and will see business representatives in the region give ideas for projects and programmes and how we should prioritise them.

The plan, which will supersede the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership’s Plan for the Humber, is part of the bidding process for the region’s Growth Deal. The Government is making available at least £2bn per year to LEPs from 2015/16 to 2020/21 to support growth.

The workshops build on recent consultation for the draft European Union Structural and Investment Funds strategy for 2014-2020 for the deployment of £87.67m to generate economic, social and environmental benefits to the Humber, which was submitted to Government this month.

Through Growth Deals – the key part of the Government’s response to Lord Heseltine’s review, No stone unturned in pursuit of growth – LEPs can seek freedoms, flexibilities and influence over resources from Government, and a share of the new Local Growth Fund to target their identified growth priorities.

As part of this LEPs have to produce a multi-year Strategic Economic Plan and will also create an Investment Plan, which covers all funding streams, to help secure the greater freedoms and flexibilities for the economic development of the Humber.

The process of securing a Growth Deal, which has a similar process to the City Deal but is open to all LEPs simultaneously, will see a draft Strategic Economic Plan submitted to Government in December 2013, followed by a final draft in March 2014 and negotiations through to July 2014.

Lord Haskins, Chair of the Humber LEP, said: “A lot of people were involved in developing our Plan for the Humber last year and the feedback was excellent – Ministers said it was one of the best they had seen.”

“Government is now giving LEPs more resources and influence, so we have been asked to build on our first plan and extend it out to cover things like transport and housing as well.”

“We want to make sure that it captures the big things that can make a difference to the Humber over the next 7 years, so we are keen to hear from people with good ideas.”

LEP Manager Richard Kendall added: “This will be the first of several opportunities for businesses and local people to get involved in developing our Strategic Economic Plan, building on the consultation we did for the Plan for the Humber, the inquiry led by our Skills Commission and our EU funding strategy.”

“The Plan will set the direction for our work for the next 7 years, and for how an increasing amount of Government money is spent in our area. It is important we get it right, so we hope everyone with an interest will get involved.”

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