LEP sets out new priorities
THE local enterprise partnership for the Liverpool city-region (LCR LEP) will today set out its stall at an event for more than 450 stakeholders.
The organisation, which finally came into being in March this year after subsuming the activities of The Mersey Partnership, has sought to broaden its focus to include more growth sectors, as chairman Robert Hough indicated to TheBusinessDesk.com last month.
It has picked up the mantle of the sectors promoted by the Mersey Partnership – namely the Low Carbon economy, Superport, the Visitor Economy and the Knowledge Economy – but has also identifiend advanced manufacturing and business growth/entrepreneurship as other key priorities which need to be developed if the area is to reach its full potential.
LCR LEP chair Robert Hough said: “We will continue to deliver in our key growth areas of SuperPort, Low Carbon, the Visitor Economy and the Knowledge Economy, but with a renewed focus on where the added value can be found.
“This business plan focuses on that core delivery work and also the new responsibilities we have as a LEP to drive forward City Region growth and job creation.”
Mr Hough will also tell delegates today that part of the organisation’s strength lies in its unique structure, which has been a source of criticism in some quarters as LEPs overseeing similarly-sized conurbations have survived on smaller numbers
Speaking at the launch of the plan later today, Mr Hough will tell delegates: “No other LEP can boast the private sector-led influence that our 450 members offer. It is with this strength that we can look to expand and grow our economy, confident that what we do continues to have the private sector at its heart.”
The business plan states that without the LEP’s intervention the city-region will continue to lag behind the UK, but if the action plans within it are properly implemented then the city-region’s economy could outstrip UK growth, adding a further 100,000 new jobs by 2020 as the size of its economy grows by £4.4bn.
