A STRONG FINISH AFTER AN UNCERTAIN START
In 2010 the then coalition government’s plan to replace regional development agencies with LEPs got off to a rocky start in Lancashire.
The fragmented nature of the county was laid bare for all to see when three separate local authority tenders for LEPs were submitted to Westminster.
Unsurprisingly the Lancashire County Council, Pennine Lancashire and Blackpool and Fylde bids were rejected, with ministers determined to see a single partnership encompassing the whole of the county.
That county-wide LEP finally saw light of day in 2011 with supermarket business boss Edwin Booth in the chair.
More controversy was to come in those early years. In 2014 the Samlesbury enterprise zone was branded as England’s “worst performing” by government ministers who bemoaned the “slow” progress being made.
The local growth and enterprise zones ministers said the site was the only one not to make progress and questioned the LEP’s ability to deliver it successfully.
Edwin Booth gave a full and robust response saying the plans remained on course and it would eventually build on the county’s status as a world-class location for advanced engineering and manufacturing.
His assessment proved to be right on the money. Today the Samlesbury enterprise zone is home of the prestigious and highly prized
Frankly Speaking
LEP’s PASSING WILL BE MOURNED BY FEW By Frank McKenna
Downtown Lancashire in Business
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are to be no more. The organisations established to replace the formidable regional development agencies - of which the one in the North West was particularly effective - are seen as an unnecessary layer of ‘bureaucracy’ with the advent of mayors and combined authorities.
Of course, In Lancashire, we have neither. Nevertheless, the wrapping up of the county’s LEP will be mourned by few and noticed by even fewer. In truth, LEPs were a private sector dog being wagged by the public sector tail.
The funding passported through to them for business support initiatives - European funded projects and the like - was inevitably passported through to them by local authorities. And I am yet to come across any organisation, private
sector-led or otherwise – that bites the hand that feeds it.
That is not to say that some exceptional individuals did not offer time and energy to the LEP movement. Indeed, I hope the NP11 led by Yorkshire LEP chair Roger Marsh finds a way of continuing its work around the Northern Powerhouse agenda.
Overall, though, LEPs were not seen as representative of local businesses and their priorities, and it is another of the coalition government’s ideas that failed to deliver what was promised – a genuine business voice that would influence sub- regional policy and strategy.
The trick now is to find something that is. But if you are expecting politicians to do that, then you will be waiting for an awfully long time.
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
AMRC North West and British Aerospace’s ASK training academy, with other major developments in the pipeline.
The LEP can point to a host of other achievements over its lifetime, putting those rocky early days well behind it.
Not least it has played a crucial role in coordinating the county’s economic priorities and creating a narrative for investment.
It also played a key role in creating Lancashire’s Covid recovery roadmap.
As well as securing the largest number of enterprise zone sites, the LEP negotiated the £450m Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal in 2013.
And it also delivered on the county’s £320m Growth Deal, a key part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative. It contributed £1.2m from that deal to develop the game-changing Eden Project in Morecambe and has been a major partner in the drive to deliver the ambitious £100m visitor attraction.
The LEP also played its part in the partnership approach that is bringing the headquarters of the National Cyber Force to Samlesbury.
It has also worked with Boost on business support and has created and delivered nationally recognised and award-winning skills programmes including the Digital Skills Partnership, Careers Hub and Enterprise Adviser Network, and the Lancashire Skills Escalator.
The verdict on the LEP, page 10
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