The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership has submitted its ambitious £2.4bn investment programme to deliver 55,000 private sector jobs and help build 77,000 new homes by 2023.
And they will discuss the plan with Lord Heseltine and Minister for Cities Greg Clark MP when they visit Nottingham tomorrow, as part of a special event hosted by Graham Allen MP entitled ‘Rebalancing the Outer Cities’.
D2N2 has been consulting with business and stakeholders since the start of the year, including a number of business breakfasts, and also received crucial feedback from Government after its first draft went into Whitehall at the end of 2013.
That has all contributed to the final version of the Strategic Economic Plan, making a compelling case to devolve Government funding – from the Single Local Growth Fund which has been allocated £10bn over five years between 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships across England – to deliver its ambitious plans for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
The D2N2 plan highlights five strategic areas for growth. They are:
- BUSINESS SUPPORT
- INNOVATION
- FINANCE
- INFRASTRUCTURE
- HOUSING and REGENERATION
The submission to Government includes a prioritised list of headline schemes to begin during 2015/16.
The plan also highlights the need to work more collaboratively to realise major opportunities such as HS2, the HS2 College for Derby, East Midlands Airport, Midland Mainline and the rollout of superfast broadband and recommends the development of a new business case for the fourth Trent crossing.
All of this will help to create tens of thousands of jobs for local people, raise skills and support local companies to grow and prosper.
Following this final submission, the amount of funding received from Government via the Single Local Growth Fund will become clear this summer, when a Growth Deal is completed between D2N2 and Government. This will be combined with local funding from the public and private sector and the 250 million euros of EU funding already allocated to D2N2 from 2014 to 2020 to deliver the £2.4bn investment programme.
D2N2 Chief Executive David Ralph said: “The D2N2 Strategic Economic Plan provides the route map for economic growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
“It prioritises accelerating development, the opportunities of innovation in growing the supply chains of our manufacturing and engineering excellence and raising skills to better meet the needs of employers.
“It also recognises the need to work more collaboratively to grasp the opportunities of key strategic projects such as HS2, East Midlands Airport and our Enterprise Zone.
“With its publication, the LEP is now moving from planning to implementation. There is an absolute emphasis on delivery and providing value for taxpayers money so once the Deal is signed my expectation is that we can proceed quick and effectively to get shovels in the ground.”
D2N2 Chairman Peter Richardson added: “We have left no stone unturned as we finalised this economic plan to drive growth in the D2N2 area, the UK’s most inspirational postcode.
“Our business case is innovative and inspirational – and captures our vision – a more prosperous, better connected, and increasingly resilient and competitive economy.”
The Minister for Cities, the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, said: “The Government welcomes the Strategic Economic Plan that D2N2 LEP has published and looks forward to continued engagement with local civic and business leaders over the next few months on the negotiation of their Growth Deal.
“The Growth Deal provides a fantastic opportunity for D2N2 LEP to seek freedoms, flexibilities and influence over resources from government, and a share of the Local Growth Fund to put towards the growth priorities set out in this Strategic Economic Plan. This provides the opportunity to unleash the ambition and creativity of D2N2’s local leaders, by devolving resource and responsibility in return for compelling local economic leadership in pursuit of growth.”
The Strategic Economic Plan submission is available to view via www.d2n2lep.org/growth. Full details of headline outcomes and priority actions for across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire can be found from page 16 to 21.
