New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is making a £19m call for capital projects which will boost skills and productivity in the East.
The new call has a specific focus on delivering the ambitions of the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk. The Strategy sets ambitious targets for the area, including growing our £35bn economy by £17.5bn in real terms by 2036, creating 88,000 new jobs and 30,000 successful new businesses and making measurable improvements to skills and productivity in the two counties.
New Anglia LEP has signed a £290m Growth Deal with Government, which has helped to fund more than 30 projects across Norfolk and Suffolk since 2014, ranging from infrastructure and flood defences to innovation centres and business support programmes. This total investment is forecast to attract £628m extra investment over the next ten years.
Following detailed analysis of the LEP’s Capital Growth Programme to date, the call for new projects will have a specific focus on the themes of Skills, Innovation and Productivity. They will follow on from successful competed projects in this sphere, including:
International Aviation Academy – Norwich (IAA-N). Growth Deal award: £3.3m. Opened in September 2017, IAA-N is a joint enterprise between the Aviation Skills Partnership and Norse, with partners from industry, education and local government. The Academy creates a world-first ‘real world’ learning environment that includes a full size aircraft. IAA-N is equipped to provide training to 400-500 students in Aviation Engineering, Cabin Crew and Airport Operations.
College of West Anglia University Centre. Growth Deal award: £6.5m. Opened in September 2016, the University Centre is enabling 100% growth in higher skills provision in an area with high levels of deprivation and unemployment. Provision for an additional 300 learners over three years, meeting current and future skills gaps locally.
Ipswich Waterfront Innovation Centre. Growth Deal award: £1.85m. Opened in October 2016 and based at the University of Suffolk’s Ipswich Campus, this project creates a high-profile innovation centre for the business community, helping to develop ideas with support from the University’s research resources and bringing together students with employers in the STEM and ICT sectors.
The new call is now open, with a final deadline for applications on Friday 11 January 2019. Project appraisals will take place in January and February 2019, with the announcement of successful projects anticipated to take place in early April 2019. Interested organisations should contact Jonathan.Rudd@newanglia.co.uk to request an application form. More information on the LEP’s Growth Deal with Government, including current projects and FAQs, can be found at newanglia.co.uk/growth-deal/. Guidance information can be found here.
Speaking following approval for the new call at the LEP’s board meeting today, LEP chair Doug Field said: “This new call presents projects across Suffolk and Norfolk with a unique opportunity to make a real difference to the success of the East. Through its Growth Deal with Government, New Anglia LEP has been entrusted to make investments providing the infrastructure, skills and innovation that will supercharge our economy. The targets set out in the Norfolk and Suffolk Economic Strategy are ambitious, and it is only through collaboration with partners in business, the public and education sectors that we can achieve them.”
