East Midlands Economic Growth Report: Lincolnshire – bucking the trend

East Midlands Economic Growth Report: Lincolnshire – bucking the trend

TheBusinessDesk.com and Barclays have produced an exclusive report and survey on the state of the East Midlands economy, assessing the challenges and opportunities facing the area as it continues to outperform its regional rivals. Read the full report here.

Ursula Lidbetter MBE, chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, explains how Lincolnshire continues to power forward – and how it sees itself very much as part of the Midlands Engine.

GREATER Lincolnshire has a strong economy, and I have always been very clear that local enterprise partnerships such as the one that I chair can only be effective if they recognise that they have permeable boundaries. Economies do not stop at administrative boundaries – be they local authority, LEP or national. That’s why I see the relationship between Greater Lincolnshire and the wider Midlands region as very important.

Partners in the East Midlands recently produced an economic vision document and I was struck by some of its opening words: “The East Midlands will be a driving force within the 21st-century UK economy in the same way that we kick-started the industrial revolution. Our manufacturing industries supply the globe with technologically advanced products; our life sciences companies keep people healthy as they age; our food and drink feeds the world; and our universities fuel the knowledge economy. Our cities, towns and villages are well connected places where people want to work, live, visit and play.”

These words resonate with us in the Greater Lincolnshire economy, and they point to why Greater Lincolnshire continues to have a strong economy even during national and global slowdowns.

Kick-starting the industrial revolution: from Sir Isaac Newton to George Boole, Lincolnshire has produced some of the world’s greatest innovators. We are continuing that tradition with innovations in machinery, processes and products. Innovation helps our economy to stay ahead of the game.

Technologically advanced products: products made in Greater Lincolnshire are sold across the globe, and through our devolution deal we have agreed a combined export plan with UK Trade and Investment. This will help us to expand markets for businesses, again helping to increase trade.

Keeping people healthy: Greater Lincolnshire’s population is living longer, and our educational institutions, housing organisations and care businesses are all developing new approaches to supporting the population. The Greater Lincolnshire LEP has agreed a health and care sector strategy which will help us to take advantage of this new economic opportunity.

Feeding the world: Greater Lincolnshire excels in food and drink. The percentage of the nation’s food that we produce is high, but what is particularly notable to me is the pace of innovation and new food products that we can see in our food production businesses. They are responding to market conditions in what is a rapidly changing marketplace.

Fuelling the knowledge economy: the number of education business partnerships in Greater Lincolnshire is high. Many of these partnerships are with the University of Lincoln or Bishop Grosseteste University, two universities within our LEP area. Our further education colleges are strongly grounded in their local community, and this helps to provide the skills that our businesses need.

Places where people want to work, live, visit, and play: we are rightly proud of the quality of life in Greater Lincolnshire. It helps us to attract people to the area, both residents and investors, and this in turn helps to trigger further investment in our high streets, community facilities and visitor attractions.

The Greater Lincolnshire economy clearly has the right components to continue to grow, even in the face of future uncertainty. Strong sectors, high levels of innovation and skilled people living in a place with a good quality of life are the main building blocks for growth.

I am a member of the strategic steering group for the Midlands Engine for Growth, and I recently chaired a meeting of 80 Greater Lincolnshire businesses to help them engage in the Midlands Engine.

Looking ahead, national and local economies face a period of uncertainty, and our LEP will have an important role to play in seizing all opportunities for growth.

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