The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) launched the work it is doing to develop a Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) to set the area on a pathway to a more prosperous future for all, at its successful Annual Conference on 12th March.
The Annual Conference provided a first opportunity for the LEP to set out its programme of activity, and, importantly, for delegates to discuss the key challenges and opportunities for the economy now and in the future.
As part of the Annual Conference, the LEP published ‘Your Solent, Your Future’, which sets out some initial thoughts on a Local Industrial Strategy for the Solent and invited people to join the conversation.
Since that time, the LEP has been reviewing the evidence base, and continued to engage with individuals and organisations from across the region and the wider UK. This engagement phase is now in full swing, and, as a critical starting point, the LEP want to understand your views so that the strategy can begin to reflect and be shaped by local ambition at the outset.
The LEP is therefore inviting you to join the conversation and complete the short survey.
The partnership organisation intends to build on the region’s strengths, develop and attract new talent, focus on sustainability, unlock innovation through education establishments and businesses working together and deliver a coastal renaissance, positioning the Solent economy as a major international hub of enterprise.
Gary Jeffries, the Chairman for the Solent LEP said:
“As a major contributor to the United Kingdom’s economy with gross value added (GVA) of £30.6 billion, the Solent is already a highly successful economic hub. The development of this Local Industrial Strategy gives us an opportunity to prepare ourselves for the significant changes and technological developments that we are going to see in the next 30 years.
Article continues below this advertisement “With our diverse industries and number of sectoral strengths linked to our coastal location and outstanding natural environment, we will ably and successfully adapt to meet future opportunities and challenges. But to ensure that we consider all aspects of our community and economy, we need wide and far-reaching views.”
This engagement phase will see the LEP announce a range of workshop sessions which will seek to drill down into the key challenges, opportunities and to expand peoples’ thinking for the future of the Solent economy. This will feed into the action needed to boost productivity, earning power and competitiveness across its area.
The project will be promoted right across the Solent region and the LEP is inviting everyone to join the conversation and take part in a survey to share their views. It would like to hear from a range of people who could be affected by the survey, to have their say and includes, younger and older generations, the general public, private, academic and voluntary sectors and all areas of the Solent.
The LEP aims to implement its findings to develop a strategy that will see the Solent emerge as an internationally-facing, prosperous and confident economy. This, it believes, will be underpinned by its renowned economic, knowledge, cultural and environmental assets, as well as identifying new opportunities for the future.
The closing date for participating in the survey is 3rd May 2019. To take part in the survey visit: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SolentLIS.
These are very hollow words designed to warm us all on the IOW to the LEP.
Unfortunately, while Kevin George (Chairman of Red Funnel Group) is also Business Director of the SLEP, anything that creates competition for cross Solent ferries will be last on the LEP list. Kevin George took over from Russel Kew who was the Wightlink CEO. It’s an outrageous conflict of interest.
Check out page 5 on this link below to see the last three LEP priorities of regeneration for the IOW. The last three HAD to be included because PRO-LINK submitted them to the LEP as schemes.
The LEP have even put the Medina crossing as a less priority than the Solent Tunnel.
No-one objects to a Medina Crossing. It’s quite simply an incredibly obvious piece of infrastructure to allow for future traffic forecasts. How on earth does the LEP justify the prioritisations?
https://solentlep.org.uk/media/2324/15735-iiip-final-report-300518.pdf