CALL FOR SUPPORT FOR FUNDING APPLICATION


May 12 2014.


The Alliance of Chambers in East Sussex (ACES) is calling for support from businesses and private individuals for the application for funding needed from central government for East Sussex, via the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP). To support this funding application, supporting emails from business people and residents are requested as a matter of urgency. One line will do!


Email your support to Zoe Gordon at zoe.gordon@essex.gov.uk 

For full details read the letter below from Derek Godfrey, SELEP Vice President

CLICK HERE for a summary of how the money will be used.

E-mail Zoe now to confirm your support for this Strategic Economic Plan.

As you will see, ACES is asking for £1.2 billion to transform the South East.




Letter from Derek Godfrey SELEP Vice Chair (East Sussex):

SELEP Growth Deal & Strategic Economic Plan


As you’re may be aware, in 2013 the Government asked every Local Enterprise Partnership in England to develop a Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) for growth. These SEPs will be used to negotiate a local ‘Growth Deal’ with Government, which should yield funding from the national Local Growth Fund (LGF).

The South East LEP (SELEP) submitted its Strategic Economic Plan and Growth Deal to Government on 31 March 2014.

SELEP is a business-led partnership of private and public sector organisations, including East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock. In all of these areas businesses and local authorities have enthusiastically collaborated to develop a plan that’s hugely ambitious yet absolutely achievable. The proposals in our SEP outline our objective to spearhead a massive £10 billion investment programme in the South East over the next six years, generating 200,000 private sector jobs and 100,000 new homes. Crucially, the vast number of projects and developments that the Growth Deal proposes to deliver are pledged with an extremely moderate ask of Government, as the Deal proposes to ‘leverage’ around £8 billion of investment with an ‘ask’ of only £1.2 billion (£200m per year).

In East Sussex the Partnership has identified a comprehensive range of projects to help us fulfil our economic potential; our LGF bid for £21m per annum will be ‘matched’ by more than three times that amount, and has the potential to generate more than 27,000 jobs and 32,000 homes.

East Sussex projects include a variety of commercial infrastructure schemes, skills and housing programmes, the provision of finance to growing local businesses, and the development of a ‘South East Fund’ (SEFUND) to facilitate site development for commercial and housing initiatives. Understandably, transport infrastructure forms the major theme, and includes our request for investment by Highways Agency and Network Rail in upgrading the strategic road and rail networks serving the county, in particular the A27 and A21 corridors and the Hastings/Ashford and Uckfield rail lines. Such investment would improve the county’s connectivity between our business hubs as well as access to the A23/M23 corridor, and therefore to Gatwick Airport, London and beyond, allowing us to unlock further employment and housing development opportunities in the future.

All of the proposed projects demonstrate real value with measurable benefits in terms of jobs and housing, making a huge positive contribution to the economic growth of both East Sussex and the whole South East region. We want to build upon the great work already achieved in the county, and the ambition demonstrated in the SEP will no doubt help to deliver the economic regeneration benefits we require.

Predictably our SEP / Growth Deal is a comprehensive document running to 233 pages; the East Sussex chapter is detailed between pages 88 and 108 but there are many other references and common themes that are highly relevant to East Sussex throughout the document. The SEP can be accessed online at:

www.southeastlep.com/about-us/activities/our-growth-deal-and-strategic-economic-plan

SELEP is about to start negotiating with Government for its share of LGF resources. It’s a competitive process, meaning we’ll be contending with every other LEP in the country for a portion of the limited fund. It is therefore vital that our SEP / Growth Deal is given as much support as possible in the coming months to enable us to secure the funds we need to unlock the potential of the East Sussex economy.

To this end it will be so important to demonstrate support from the business community, Local Government and MPs alike; therefore your backing for the SEP really could make a difference.

SELEP Business Engagement & Communications Manager Zoe Gordon is collating all messages of support and endorsement. Please email Zoe at zoe.gordon@essex.gov.uk. With your support we can confidently drive forward with our objectives over the next six years, fulfilling our ambitions for the county and realising the full potential of East Sussex.


Derek Godfrey
SELEP Vice Chair (East Sussex)
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