Growth deals for local enterprise partnerships
The government initiated the formation of local enterprise partnerships (LEP) between local businesses and local authorities in 2010. They emerged from the coalition government’s localism agenda announced in the 2010 Budget.
The local growth white paper, published in October 2010, defined the function of local enterprise partnerships as partnerships between local authorities and businesses that decide investment priorities for sustainable economic growth across their local economic area. This can include investment in roads, buildings and other facilities.
The function of growth deals is to help boost growth around the country, with local enterprise partnerships deciding the priorities for investment in roads, buildings and facilities within their area. Funding is available to local enterprise partnerships from growth deals for local projects that are beneficial to the local area and economy, such as:
- Training young people.
- Creating jobs.
- Building new homes.
- Contributing towards the costs of large infrastructure projects, such as transport improvements and superfast broadband.
All 39 local enterprise partnerships reached agreement for growth deals in the 2014 tranche. An interactive map displays where the partnerships are located around the country. This was expanded in January 2015.
Further details on each of the growth deals is available on the Local Growth Deals website.
Examples of major projects include:
- £17 million to help improve the A2300 Burgess Hill link road to help relieve congestion and enable a large housing development.
- £15.8 million towards transport projects in Fareham and Gosport .
- £8.7 million in Greater Birmingham and Solihull to create new training facilities to help address skills shortages in the area.
- £5 million for the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing at Nottingham University to help train manufacturing engineers and fund research.
In November 2015, a study of early growth deals by Nathaniel Lichfield Partners (NLP) found funding was focussed primarily on transport schemes and that the level of private sector investment varied widely. Ref Devolving Growth? Local Opportunities for Strategic Infrastructure Investment.
In March 2016, Communities Secretary Greg Clark announced that England’s 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships would be able to apply for a share of £1.8 billion to support projects in their areas. Ref gov.uk.
However, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office, also published in March 2016, questioned the transparency of LEP’s and recommended clarification about how they fit with other bodies to which power and spending have been devolved, and suggested that specific quantifiable objectives and performance indicators were set out for the success of Growth Deals.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.
- Affordable housing
- City deals.
- Consultation process.
- Enterprise zones.
- Going for growth, Reviewing the Effectiveness of Government Growth Initiatives.
- Growth and Infrastructure Bill.
- Heritage perspectives on infrastructure.
- Local development orders.
- Local enterprise partnership.
- Local plan.
- Localism act.
- Planning permission.
- Simplified planning zones.
[edit] External references
Featured articles and news
IHBC book review: Charles Barry’s monumental struggle to rebuild the Houses of Parliament.
Read about RSHP's British Museum extension which has been shortlisted for the 2017 Stirling Prize.
Read our introductory article to building a house extension.
More updates from DCMS about the large-scale testing of cladding systems and the number of buildings affected.
UandI secure resolution to grant planning consent for major new regeneration project.
Infrastructure and the historic environment
IHBC article considers how heritage is dealt with when infrastructure schemes are authorised.
It was the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years, but to this day the exact construction techniques are a mystery.
Shortlist for the industry's most coveted award announced.
Government responds to Mark Farmer's review of industry, rejecting the call for a levy on clients.
Peter Hansford to examine what wider lessons can be learned from the fire.
Every project is subject to uncertainty. How can construction better understand uncertainty for performance improvement?
MAD Architects reveal their designs for a futuristic campus for electric car manufacturer.
Homebuyers could borrow more with better forecasting of energy bills, according to industry consortium's new report.
Grenfell Tower articles updated daily
