13/06/13

Minister Hears LEP's ambitious economic growth plans

DCLG Minister Brandon Lewis met with Cheshire and Warrington’s Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) last Thursday to hear about its ambitious plans to grow the economy further, faster.

The Minister, who’s Department will play a key role in reviewing plans for economic growth and making sure that areas can deliver these, went away with a strong sense of how Cheshire and Warrington is preparing itself.
Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis said of his visit:

"The Cheshire and Warrington LEP are getting investment into our communities and are playing a key role in the government's programme to get sustainable business investment across their area. Not only will this drive growth and jobs but their economic ambitions will be a great support and example to other enterprise initiatives."

Aidan Manley, the LEP’s Chief Executive, provided a presentation to the Minister on the strength of the Cheshire and Warrington economy and outlined how the LEP Board intended to build on success.

He commented:

“This was an important opportunity to demonstrate to the Minister that the LEP can be trusted with significant Government and European funding to deliver economic growth.”

Christine Gaskell, MBE, LEP Chair, outlined her ambition to turn Cheshire and Warrington into one of the Top Three economies in England, competing with the best of the South East.

Christine explained:

“Currently, Cheshire and Warrington has the strongest performing economy in the North, based on our economic contribution per head, but that is not good enough for us, we want to be competing with the strongest economies within the UK and internationally. Our ambition is achievable, and the LEP Board recognises that its job is to do the right things that will help our businesses to go further, faster”.

Aidan Manley added:

“That’s why we are focusing our growth plans on those things that we feel are most important to unlock economic growth in Cheshire and Warrington. For example, our businesses told us that lending remains a problem, so we have prioritised access to finance to help them to get the money that they need to grow. We are aware that we need to keep our goods moving which is why transport remains a priority for us. We also recognise that there needs to be support for our businesses in areas such as exporting, training and development of staff and expansion, which is why we are developing our strong support offer available to businesses in the sub-region.”

Aidan continued:

“We know that we have to develop high quality plans to grow our economy, but we also need to make things happen at a very practical level. This is  why it was important for the Minister to hear first-hand from developers Morris Homes and Square One Lifestyle Homes Limited, who are looking to receive support from the LEP to build new homes, through our Growing Places Fund”.

Alan Barton, Director, Square One Lifestyle Homes Limited commented:

“It was excellent for us, as a new business, to have the opportunity to explain to the Minister the challenges that we’ve faced in getting our business moving. The banks didn’t want to know us, as a new business looking to deliver new homes at a genuinely affordable price. The LEP has stepped in through Growing Places Fund and we are hopeful that we will soon secure the funding we need to get on site and start building.”

Businesses wanting to know more about what the LEP is doing to drive forward the economy of Cheshire and Warrington can contact Aidan Manley, Chief Executive at [email protected] .

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