First published in the Worcester News on 3 July 2015
I was pleased to hear the projected economic growth anticipated by the Government in the Chancellor’s budget. I do believe LEPs have a large part to play in achieving this future growth by continuing to align public and private sector activity and in Worcestershire, we are already seeing results against our 10-year Strategic Economic Plan.
In my last column I mentioned about the Foreign Investment in Worcestershire last year which created over 1,000 jobs. When considering population levels across the LEP areas and the number of jobs created per head, Worcestershire has now been ranked the third highest performing LEP in England and we continue to work to secure further investment from overseas. In addition, the latest Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest Regional Growth Tracker showed Worcestershire’s economy was the second fastest growing in the West Midlands in the first months of this year which is further good news for the County.
We want to create an environment where Worcestershire businesses continue to flourish. The LEP Business Board is chaired by Mark Martin, of One Creative, and Vice-chaired by Steve-Borwell Fox of Borwell Ltd. Please do email enquiries@wlep.co.uk with any issues your business is facing and what you believe the Business Board should focus on to benefit companies across Worcestershire.
I would also encourage all businesses to participate in the many networking opportunities available. For example, Worcestershire Innovation Wednesday is an excellent way to network with like-minded individuals and share ideas for truly innovative practices that will benefit your business. Another successful event was held this week with a focus on Sport and August’s session will examine International Opportunities. All details and future dates are available on our website and I look forward to meeting with more of you at events around the County.