SOLENT LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP
TRANSFORMING THE SOLENT ECONOMY
Anne-Marie Mountifield
Chief Executive, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
Informing Hampshire , April 25 th 2014
The Solent LEP – Who we are?
• The Solent LEP was formed after the Government offered local areas the
opportunity to take control of their future economic development.
• It is a locally-owned partnership between businesses and local authorities
and plays a central role in determining local economic priorities and
undertaking activities to drive economic growth and the creation of local
jobs.
• Our fully-elected board of 15 directors, with a private sector Chairman,
comprises business, the Further Education and Higher Education sector,
three unitary authorities, eight district councils and one county council.
• Registered as a company limited by guarantee, we were incorporated on 18
March 2011.
Solent Economy Headlines
The Solent Economy – Overview
• The Solent area is an internationally-recognised key economic hub anchored
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around the three International Gateways, the Isle of Wight, the two cities of
Portsmouth and Southampton, the M27 corridor and the Solent waterway.
Economic output equates to £48.5bn (GVA of £23.7bn), with over 50,000
businesses operating in the area, supporting 485,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
At the heart of our economy are the two cities of Portsmouth and Southampton
and their associated ports and three leading Universities. Together these two cities
provide nearly 39% of high-skilled jobs in the Solent and contribute 37% of our total
economic output.
The maritime and marine sector accounts for 20.5% of our GVA and provides
40,000 jobs locally, and supports over 3,000 businesses. Over the period to 2025
these sectors are projected to grow by 5% in the Solent.
The Solent sub-region also plays a significant role in advanced manufacturing with
significant clusters linked to our key economic assets of the Port of Southampton,
Portsmouth Naval Base and the marine and defence cluster.
The Solent Economy – Overview
Solent LEP Strategic Economic Plan – ‘ the do nothing
scenario’
• Solent is forecast to grow at 2.8% per annum and will continue to lag the average annual UK
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GVA growth rate of 2.9% per annum and 3.0% per annum for the South East.
The area will continue to be dependent on public sector employment and large employers
making it vulnerable to business failure and public sector cuts.
Manufacturing is forecast to decline. By 2030, manufacturing is expected to contract by 20.6%
with the shedding of 9,900 jobs.
Increasing levels of congestion in the Solent area will prevail. This will restrict future job
creation and there is a potential loss of GVA of 1.3% per annum by 2025.
A lack of available space for expansion and development - stalled sites and significant
infrastructure requirements will block the delivery of two major strategic housing sites and
employment land to support the growth of the international gateways and the maritime sector.
Significant tracts of prime development land and waterside access are owned by the MoD and
will not be put to productive economic use, constraining the growth of the Port and the
marine and maritime sector.
Demographic change and replacement demand will place significant pressures on the labour
market and this will inhibit growth
Poor achievement at key stage 4, particularly in STEM subjects will result in significant skills
deficits
Solent LEP Strategic Economic Plan and
Local Growth Deal Headlines
Our Priorities
The LEP has six strategic priorities:
• Supporting new businesses, enterprise and ensuring SME survival and growth;
• Enabling infrastructure priorities including land assets, transport and housing, reducing flood
risk and improving access to superfast broadband;
• Establishing a single inward investment model to encourage companies to open new sites in
the region, supported by effective marketing;
• Investing in skills to establish a sustainable pattern of growth, ensuring local residents are
equipped to take up the jobs that are created and businesses can source local skills and labour
to underpin growth;
• Developing strategic sectors and clusters (interconnected groups and businesses) of marine,
aerospace and defence, advanced manufacturing, engineering, transport and logistics
businesses, low carbon and the visitor economy – establishing the area as a business gateway,
at both local and international levels and developing local supply chains;
• Building on our substantial knowledge assets to support innovation and build innovative
capacity in the Solent area to stimulate growth in Solent businesses and in new high growth
sectors, particularly linked to our HE excellence.
Solent LEP Strategic Economic Plan – Priorities
Transforming Solent, our Strategic Economic Plan builds on our comparative
economic advantages and has prioritised interventions that will promote this
area as a leading location for the marine, maritime and advanced
manufacturing sectors both at home and more importantly in the global
marketplace. The key focal points are:
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The critical role of the connectivity of the Solent with our wider UK and global
markets.
Overcoming physical constraints to growth through the assembly of public (especially
MOD) and private land, which will support the development of housing and
employment sites.
Providing an appropriate housing offer.
Addressing our skills shortages and deal with educational under-achievement at key
stage 4 and skills deficits in STEM.
Investing in the business base – to address the Solent’s poor performance in SME
business start-up and survival, by supporting new businesses and our supply chains.
The Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and Local
Growth Deal
A £1.8bn proposal, with:
• £100m local contributions
• £1.4bn private sector leverage
• £300m Local Growth deal funding ask
• An ask for greater influence over key levers affecting local growth and some
freedoms and flexibilities
It demonstrates a wider commitment to growth and goes beyond what is directly
managed under the Local Growth Fund and it will deliver 3.1% GVA growth per
annum and an increase in productivity of over £6,800 per job
Solent LEP Strategic Economic Plan and
the role of key local partners – some
examples
Proposed Capital investment for skills
Further information see:
http://solentlep.org.uk/downloads