Have your say on the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan

Businesses throughout Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are being asked to help shape the future of the local economy.

The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership is revising its Strategic Economic Plan, which maps the key sectors in the local economy and drives economic growth, employment and skills development.

The LEP is recognised by local partners and government as the focus for the development and delivery of our local economic strategy, bringing together businesses, the public sector, and further and higher education providers.

The LEP wants to hear from all its local partners as it revises the strategy to meet future opportunities and challenges. Since the original strategy was drawn up in 2011, the LEPs has gained new responsibilities around Enterprise Zones and Growth Hubs, which offer advice and support to businesses, while new collaborations across the region, such as the Midlands Engine and the Constellation Partnership with Cheshire and Warrington LEP, have been launched.

The LEP is also making significant investments around Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire as a result of three rounds of Growth Deal funding from the Government since 2011. Additionally, the plan revision will help the region gear up for a new economic and trading landscape after Brexit.

LEP chairman David Frost CBE commented: “A business-led LEP is the one local body that has as its mission the development of all businesses, and their views are crucial in preparing our Strategic Economic Plan. We need their expertise and knowledge to help ensure that we focus our efforts on areas where we can make a real difference.

“The bedrock of our LEP is the support and participation of all of our partners working collectively – and we want their views on how we can make Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire a great place to live, work and invest, with more and better jobs for our residents.”

A consultation draft of the Strategic Economic Plan can be downloaded from the LEP website here: https://www.stokestaffslep.org.uk/app/uploads/2015/04/171016-SSLEP-SEP-Refresh-Consultation-Draft.pdf

Consultation responses, headed ‘SEP Consultation’, can be emailed to contactus@stokestaffslep.org.uk or posted to Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire Enterprise Partnership, Judges’ Chambers, County Buildings, Martin Street, Stafford ST16 2LH.

The closing date for the consultation is November 24, 2017.