CREATING THE RIGHT CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH Annual Review 2014–15
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L-R Lord Heseltine; the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP; Mark Reeve, GCGP LEP Chairman; and former Housing Minister Kris Hopkins
CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION During the last financial year, the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has taken significant strides forward to support the economic growth of our area From securing over £110 million from Government via our Growth Deals to launching The Skills Service, we are tackling the key issues that local businesses identified as barriers to growth: skills, infrastructure, and funding. The upgrade of the A14, the delivery of the Ely Southern Bypass, the dualling of the last single carriageway elements of the A428, vital improvements to the A47, and many other transport improvements will now happen thanks to the LEP working with its stakeholder community.
We are directly helping businesses to build new innovation and incubator space, to fund research projects, and to install new equipment and processes to help their businesses to grow. This is just the beginning. Our LEP is committed to tackling even more of the key issues that hold our businesses back, creating the right conditions for growth to help businesses grow and deliver more new jobs.
We have launched The Skills Service across the north of our area, which is already bringing together businesses, education and training providers to ensure we are developing the workforce we need both now and in the future. We have also secured funding for specialist training centres for construction, highways development, Mark Reeve and the food processing industries. Chairman
Le Mark received funding for new machinery, crucial to the growth of their business via Grants for Growth
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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW LEPS ARE A VITAL PART OF THE ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE, WORKING HARD TO OVERCOME THE KEY BARRIERS TO GROWTH FOR BUSINESSES AND CHAMPIONING LOCAL CAUSES AT A NATIONAL LEVEL
Having been involved with the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) from the very beginning, I am pleased to see the progress that has been made since I joined the team on a full-time basis last June.
LEPs are a vital part of the economic landscape, working hard to overcome the key barriers to growth for businesses and championing local causes at a national level. Our work is making a difference, but there is still more to do. We continue to listen to what businesses want and need. Whether that be local infrastructure challenges to difficulties finding appropriately skilled staff, overcoming these barriers to growth is at the heart of all our major pieces of work. 4
By working closely with Government to tackle the economic priorities of our area, we can help to secure the funding it needs to develop and prosper. Over the last twelve months our local economy has once again shown its strength. Peterborough was second in the Centre for Cities list of job-creating cities over the last 100 years, with a 373% increase in the total number of jobs from 1911 to 2013. These figures are backed up the job seekers claimant count dropping by 42% in Peterborough and 40% in Cambridgeshire (from February 2014 to February 2015).
Both Cambridge and Peterborough have featured in the top five fastest growing cities list from Centre for Cities, and Cambridge has the 2nd highest employment rate in the UK and the lowest claimant count in the country overall. Between 2004 and 2013, Cambridge saw a 15.7% increase in the number of jobs created – the 4th highest in the country. Looking ahead, over the next twelve months we will roll out the next wave of the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative and our Growing Places Fund. We will expand the reach of The Skills Service, there will be further development on our Enterprise Zone at Alconbury Weald, and the first round of European Funding will be issued to our local area. A number of key infrastructure schemes are due to get underway, including the A14 and some of those funded by the £110 million of Growth Deal funding we secured during the last 12 months. We will also be launching a new business support scheme to help our local businesses better connect with the funding and support available to them. Signpost 2 Grow will make it easier for businesses to get the help they need to grow, and will pioneer a new way of supporting local businesses. I am excited about the year ahead, and look forward to seeing a number of important projects get off the ground. Until then, rest assured my team will be working hard to create the best possible environment for businesses to grow and prosper.
Neil Darwin, Chief Executive
Rupert Hargreaves from Hargreaves Plants in North West Norfolk, has benefited from the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative 5
INFRASTRUCTURE Whether it is by securing funding for congested roads, campaigning for improvements to our rail network, or supporting work to deliver better broadband for both businesses and homes, the LEP is working hard to move these issues forward. This year alone, we have secured funding for the following infrastructure projects:
Ely Southern Bypass – 1.7km of road that will connect the A142 to the Stuntney Causeway, relieving congestion in the city, and supporting the creation of 4,500 new jobs and 3,000 new homes. A428 – Upgrading the remaining single carriageway section between the Black Cat Roundabout and Caxton Gibbet to dual carriage, with significant improvements to the A1 Black Cat Roundabout to ease traffic flows and overcome congestion. M11 Junction 8 upgrade – Development work to upgrade the busy M11 Junction 8 interchange located near Stansted Airport. The junction upgrade has the potential to significantly accelerate the delivery of new homes and enable the development of 18 hectares of business land.
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Overcoming infrastructure issues that hold back economic growth Bourges Boulevard, Peterborough – Investment in Phase Two of the upgrades to the busy Bourges Boulevard. A47 improvements – Work to improve Junction 20, a key interchange to the north-east of Peterborough plus the creation of a new, larger junction linking the A47 at Guyhirn with the A141 and the dualling of the A47 between Wansford and Sutton East, connecting this formerly single carriageway section west of Peterborough. King’s Dyke level crossing – Improving access to Whittlesey by replacing the King’s Dyke level crossing to allow for major increases in rail use and reduce waiting times for motorists at the crossing. Wisbech Access Study – Funding to undertake a detailed study into the transport improvements required to support the growth of Wisbech. This is in addition to a £50 million contribution from the LEP towards the upgrade of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon, which is due to start work in 2016.
WE ARE WORKING HARD TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE TO KEEP BUSINESSES MOVING
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SKILLS Creating a steady supply of appropriately skilled staff to meet current and future needs of our local businesses
THE SKILLS SERVICE The LEP launched The Skills Service, an initiative designed to address local skills issues and support economic growth across Peterborough, Rutland, West Norfolk, and Fenland. Funded by the LEP, and delivered by Opportunity Peterborough, The Skills Service is already making a difference by providing a co-ordinated approach between businesses, education and training providers across the area. One of the largest projects The Skills Service has undertaken to date is the delivery of the Careers Festival in Peterborough, which welcomed over 2,500 young people through its doors in 2014. Around 130 businesses, colleges, universities, and training providers showcased their organisations, with a range of bite-sized skills experiences on offer from bricklaying to testing blood pressure and oxygen levels, with the sole ambition of helping young people find out more about the career opportunities available to them.
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Adrian Cannard from the LEP went Back 2 the Floor to promote apprenticeships at Stansted Airport
THE SKILLS SERVICE IS ALREADY MAKING A DIFFERENCE BY PROVIDING A CO-ORDINATED APPROACH BETWEEN BUSINESSES, EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROVIDERS ACROSS THE AREA
FUNDING FOR SKILLS Via the Growth Deal, we have secured vital funding to create specialist training centres for construction at the CITB’s headquarters in West Norfolk, highways development at WATA in Huntingdon, and food processing at Peterborough Regional College. This is in addition to funding for a new Technical and Vocational Centre of Excellence at Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus.
APPRENTICESHIPS Throughout the year, the LEP has promoted apprenticeships to businesses across its area. From speaking at events to running a week long ‘Back 2 the Floor’ campaign to celebrate Apprenticeships Week, we continue to fly the flag for apprenticeships to raise the profile and highlight the positive impact that they have on individuals and businesses – with the ultimate aim of encouraging more businesses in the local area to create them.
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INNOVATION Defining the future of innovation by creating the right conditions for growth and developing local supply chain opportunities
Our area is a global leader in the field of innovation. Whilst Cambridge is renowned for its technology, Peterborough is a fast-developing smart city, with surrounding businesses and communities all playing an important part in the innovation landscape as well, from world-leading equine science driven by Newmarket, to cutting edge Agri-Tech developments. It is this innovation that drives business. Our area is internationally renowned for its inventions and creations, and that’s what gives us the advantage over other parts of the country. Our job at the LEP, with businesses and other partners, is to ensure we’re harnessing that unique strength to best effect. During the past year we have helped to secure funding for three new innovation spaces in our area. A new Technology Centre, known as The Sir John Bradfield Centre, will be created at the heart of Cambridge Science Park thanks to Government funding and partnership working with the LEP.
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Via the Growth Deal, we have secured funding to create the new Cambridge Biomedical Innovation Centre that will provide business space for small firms at the growing Cambridge Biomedical Campus next to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Using Regional Growth Funding, via the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative, a sector focused Innovation Centre, known as the Agri Gate Research Hub, is being built at Soham with NIAB at the helm. In addition to these new spaces, we welcomed the news that AstraZeneca will be moving its headquarters to Cambridge, and worked with the LSCC to deliver a new Life Sciences strategy for the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor. We have also supported innovation in the field of Agri-Tech via our Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative, and started work with the Institute for Manufacturing, alongside Urban&Civic, to look at innovation supply chains.
CAMBRIDGE REGISTERS MORE PATENTS EVERY YEAR THAN ANY OTHER PLACE IN THE UK
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BUSINESS GROWTH Helping businesses with ambition to make their plans become reality
The LEP is committed to helping local businesses to grow. Over the past year we have directly supported businesses via three main funding streams: the Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative, Growing Places Funding, and Grants4Growth.
EASTERN AGRI-TECH GROWTH INITIATIVE Our Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative is a pioneering programme designed to support our world-class Agri-Tech sector. Kick-started by the Regional Growth Fund, the Initiative provides grant funding to support product development, improve agricultural productivity, and enable research and development of new products or processes for the sector. To date, over £2 million has been invested in 26 different projects ranging from new machinery for cut flower producers and gluten-free oat processors, through to the development of mobile app-based remote monitoring systems and a new software platform to help farmers maximise their yields.
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GRANTS4GROWTH Grants4Growth is a European Regional Development Funded project designed to help businesses put in place new processes and equipment to make them more efficient, from new manufacturing equipment through to a crushing plant to help create ready mix concrete derived from waste products and by-products. Since it began in 2013, Grants4Growth has supported more than 80 companies in our LEP area, committing over £800,000 of funding to projects that will improve efficiency and cut costs in a range of businesses from garages to virtual PA answering services. A further 400 jobs have been safeguarded and 90 new jobs created through support from the fund.
TO DATE, OVER £2 MILLION HAS BEEN INVESTED IN 26 DIFFERENT PROJECTS RANGING FROM NEW MACHINERY FOR CUT FLOWER PRODUCERS… TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOBILE APP-BASED REMOTE MONITORING SYSTEMS
Supporting innovation and helping companies to grow at home and abroad
GROWING PLACES FUNDING Over the last 12 months we have invested ÂŁ7.3 million into projects to unlock barriers to growth across the LEP area. This included loan funding for K&K Machines in Hunstanton to enable them to develop the first range of specialist, patented long arm quilting machines in the UK and Europe. The funding enabled them to secure the first sales of this UK-made machine and the company has high hopes for the future. A loan was also agreed with Grovemere Property Ltd, who will develop nine new business units for small and start-up businesses at Lancaster Way Business Park in Ely. The scheme will create between 30 and 50 new jobs and is due to complete by 2016.
SIGNPOST 2 GROW
Lord Livingston visits Masteroast in Peterborough
We will shortly be launching a new business support service called Signpost 2 Grow. Drawing together all of the support and funding opportunities available to help businesses grow, and the Signpost 2 Grow website will guide businesses through their options. signpost2grow.co.uk 13
IN 2014–15 WE SIGNIFICANTLY BOOSTED ACTIVITY AND INVESTMENT IN LOCAL ENTERPRISE APRIL 2014
MAY 2014
The LEP submits its Strategic Economic Plan to Government
The Skills Service is launched across the north of the LEP area
A14 consultation gets underway
Grovemere Property Ltd receives a loan from the LEP’s Growing Places Fund to develop new business units at Lancaster Way Business Park in Ely HS2 comes to Cambridge as the LEP hosts local businesses at a supply chain development event The Agri Gate Hub in Soham receives funding from the LEP’s Eastern Agri-Tech Initiative to create a new Agri-Tech innovation centre for the region
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Haverhill Innovation Centre
JUNE 2014 Cambridge and Peterborough top the Small Business Outlook report from Centre for Cities The Incubator at Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus wins awards for its design £1 billion Greater Cambridge City Deal is officially signed
JULY 2014 Growth Deal Round 1 announced – bringing £72 million to the local area MedCity comes to Alconbury as the LEP hosts members of the local bio-med community alongside Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Enterprise, and Chair of MedCity The LEP’s Get Exporting campaign is launched by Lord Livingston at Masteroast in Peterborough
£1 BILLION CITY DEAL SIGNED OFF
£72 MILLION BROUGHT TO THE LOCAL AREA
FUNDING
Securing the funds our area needs to overcome key barriers to growth
Funding underpins much of the LEP’s work. Ensuring that we secure the funds needed to tackle the strategic priorities for our area, we work hard to make the most of opportunities to draw investment into our area.
This is in addition to directly investing £2 million of funding into local businesses via the Eastern Agri-Tech Initiative, £600,000 to small business improvements via Grants4Growth, and £7.3 million via our Growing Places Fund.
During the last 12 months, we have secured £110 million via the Government’s Growth Deal process to support key strategic projects.
Our European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) Strategy is the key to accessing £72 million from now until 2020.
ESIF includes the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development Fund (EAFRD), and focuses on local area interventions within the EU investment priorities on the following page.
THE YEAR AT A GLANCE AUGUST 2014 Over 40 businesses receive business advice at the Fenland Grants Fair run by the LEP and Fenland District Council £10 million is invested into Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus by the Government’s Building Foundations for Growth programme
SEPTEMBER 2014 Prof Ian White, Master of Jesus College, David Gill, Chief Executive of the St John’s Innovation Centre, Cllr Steve Count, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, and Cllr James Waters, Leader of Forest Heath District Council join the LEP Board Neil Darwin becomes Interim Chief Executive of the LEP
Innovation, research and technology The digital agenda Support for SMEs (including social enterprises) Low carbon economy
NOVEMBER 2014
Run by the LEP, European Funding workshops are held in Newmarket and Peterborough
Rt Hon Vince Cable visits Alconbury to officially sign the LEP Growth Deal worth £72 million
£300,000 invested in businesses by the LEP’s Eastern Agri-Tech Initiative
A further £95,000 invested in businesses by the LEP’s Eastern Agri-Tech Initiative
The LEP holds business support workshops with New Anglia LEP as part of the West Suffolk Business Festival
£300,000 INVESTED IN BUSINESSES
£10 MILLION INVESTED INTO ENTERPRISE CAMPUS
Via ERDF
OCTOBER 2014
Via ESF Investing in education, skills and lifelong learning Promoting employment and supporting labour mobility Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty
£95,000 INVESTED IN BUSINESSES
Via EAFRD Developing knowledge and skills in rural areas Supporting new and growing micro and small sized rural businesses Supporting broadband investment Supporting small-scale renewables
During the last 12 months, we have secured £110 million via the Government’s Growth Deal process to support key strategic projects
Supporting tourism activities in rural areas
WE CONTINUE TO DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH FORWARD IN OUR AREA DECEMBER 2014 The Chancellor announces funding for the dualling of the A428 and improvements to the A47 in the Autumn Statement
JANUARY 2015
FEBRUARY 2015
Growth Deal Round 2 announced – £38 million secured for projects in the local area including the Ely Southern Bypass and Junction 8 of the M11
Funding secured for Sir John Bradfield Centre in Cambridge, a project developed by the University of Cambridge and the LEP
Cambridge & Peterborough rate highly in Centre for Cities: Cities Outlook Report for growth, innovation, skills, and jobs
Stansted Airport soars past its 20 million passengers per year record
£38 MILLION SECURED FOR PROJECTS
Bio-bean moves onto Alconbury Enterprise Campus
MARCH 2015 Back 2 the Floor campaign a success! Peterborough named as top jobs creator Rutland named as best place to live in the countryside by Halifax Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey Newnham in Cambridge named the best place to live in the UK by The Sunday Times
LEP Prize Challenge winners announced – Cross Keys Homes, CHS Group and Overstream Clean receive £50,000 each
GROWTH DEAL FUNDING The LEP has secured over £110 million of funding via the Government’s Growth Deal process, with funding in place to support a wide range of projects including: The long-awaited Ely Southern Bypass The creation of the Cambridge Biomedical Innovation Centre
Mark Reeve and Neil Darwin from the LEP in Ely
A Food Manufacturing and Processing Centre of Excellence at Peterborough Regional College
A Technical and Vocational Centre at Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus
Two new skills academies to support the construction industry
Further investment in both our Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative and Growing Places Fund
Undertaking a detailed study into transport improvements around Wisbech
Infrastructure improvements in Peterborough for Bourges Boulevard and A47 Junction 20
Upgrades to Junction 8 of the M11 near Stansted Airport
Replacing King’s Dyke level crossing near Whittlesey
The funding will be available between 2015 and 2020, with work starting soon on the first projects. 16
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES During 2014-15 the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has: Launched The Skills Service across the north of the LEP area Secured loans for new business initiatives and innovation centres Attracted significant investment to tackle the biggest barriers to growth Successfully campaigned for improvements to infrastructure, including vital road links
Key highlights include: Growth Deal (Rounds 1 & 2) – £110 million Greater Cambridge City Deal – £1 billion Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus – £10 million Eastern Agri-Tech Initiative – £3.2 million LEP Prize Challenge – £150,000 1714
The Incubator at Alconbury Weald Enterprise Campus
SECURING FUNDS FOR 2015-16
FIND OUT MORE AT GCGP.CO.UK
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E: info@gcgp.co.uk T: 01480 277180