TEES VALLEY BIDS FOR NEW ENTERPRISE ROLE
The Department for Communities and Local Government has welcomed the Tees Valley Unlimited Board decision to submit a local enterprise partnership proposal for Tees Valley, which will be submitted early next week.
Under the banner of Tees Valley Unlimited, Business leaders, regeneration bodies and the five Tees Valley Councils have responded to the Government’s call for councils and the local business community to come together to establish these new economic development partnerships.
Localities were given the deadline of September 6 to declare an interest in becoming a local enterprise partnership which would work with Government to strengthen local economies by focusing on an area’s unique challenges and opportunities.
Tees Valley is recognised as a real functional economic area reflected in its travel to work, learn and shopping patterns. TVU is where the five local authorities of Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland operate together with the private sector on issues that affect the economy.
Specifically, the government is looking for local enterprise partnerships to have functions that include: planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure, employment and enterprise and supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.
Sandy Anderson, chairman of Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU), said: “TVU has been operating for three years and has made significant progress in identifying Tees Valley’s opportunities for economic growth and helping to exploit these to create new businesses and jobs.
“TVU partners have all signed up to a Statement of Ambition that has two very clear aims. The first aim is to help further the area’s already strong progress in the developing new businesses and jobs involved in the low carbon economy and ‘green industries’ which will allow us to build on the strengths we have in the chemicals and process sector. And indeed, we’re already starting to see this with major investment in bioethanol plants, waste to energy facilities and biomass factories creating jobs for local people now.
“Our second aim is to support growth in the service and retails sectors and to look at how we can expand creative industries sector and the logistics and finance sectors right across the Tees Valley.
“In this respect we are well placed to take forward a local enterprise partnership for Tees Valley and hope that if we are successful in our bid it will open up new opportunities and potential funding for the area so that we can further this progress.
”The business community, in particular the British Chambers of Commerce and Institute of Directors at a national level want to see local enterprise partnerships focusing on growth, private sector job creation and diversifying local economies - we are confident that through TVU we will achieve this.”
TVU estimate that there is up to £8bn of potential commercial investment over the medium term that could be attracted to the Tees Valley in areas such as oil refinery, ports development and off-shore wind construction. TVU is therefore working to support this investment by addressing issues such as land development, upgrading utilities, carbon capture and storage and introducing innovative heat to power systems focused around the North and South Tees.
At the same time as submitting its outline local enterprise partnership proposal, TVU has also been working as part of the Association of North East Councils (ANEC), together with the Northern Business Forum (NBF) to make a strong case for the creation of a strategic economic body for the North East to deliver those economic functions best carried out at a North East level.
In a joint submission to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, ANEC and the NBF highlight innovation, inward investment and business growth as being some of the key areas which would be better dealt with and delivered at the North East Level – in the interests of both the North East and the national economy.
Local authority and business leaders are keen to engage in discussions with Government around the benefits of such an approach, which would complement and support Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Mr. Anderson added: “We see the ANEC/NBF proposition and the TVU local enterprise partnership bid being entirely complementary. This is about keeping vital functions in the North East and not transferring them to the national level, while at the same time, recognising the progress already made in delivering economic growth in the Tees Valley and wanting to build on that.”