Member Article

Coordination of North East innovation assets is key to creating 100,000 jobs, says LEP man

Continued productivity growth in the North East, and coordinating the region’s innovation assets will be key to the creation of 100,000 new jobs by 2024, a board member of the North East LEP has said.

As the LEP publishes its Strategic Economic Plan for the North East, ‘More and Better Jobs’, Michael Bellamy, a LEP board member and general manager of Cramlington-based Pii Pipeline Solutions, says we have the archetypes for high quality jobs in the region.

Michael told Bdaily: “The archetypes of these ‘better’ jobs are already in the region - particularly if you look to places like the advanced manufacturing sector around Sunderland - you’ll see highly skilled, highly paid roles.

“The Oil and gas, IT and the creative sectors are just a few others. We’ve got a lot of brilliant, exporting businesses in the region, and the key to delivering better jobs is making the most of the opportunities in those sectors.

“We’ve got a lot of great innovation assets in the region and we need to better coordinate them to exploit their opportunities.”

An innovation portion of the strategy is lead by former Procter and Gamble man and Newcastle University professor, Roy Sandbach, and backed with an international panel of innovation experts.

The strategy backs an ‘innovation corridor’ between Newcastle and Durham Universities, including three new incubator sites.

Elsewhere investment is proposed for the North East Technology Park and the development of several new innovation hubs, including a National Centre for Healthcare Photonics, a Centre for Innovation in Formulation and the Low Carbon Energy Centre at Newcastle’s Science Central.

Michael added: “To some extent the innovation strategy is a culture change for us, but ironically its about the North East rediscovering its roots. We have a long history of innovation, and that is key to making this strategy sustainable - not just a flash in the pan.”

A ‘Schools Challenge’ features prominently in the report, inspired by similar, successful London models, the scheme would be led by an alliance of business, head teachers and statutory bodies.

The aim is to drive up the quality of the region’s schools, using £4.7 million investment per year, over six years.

“The Schools Challenge helped lift attainment at schools in London. The notion of a North East challenge is the foundation stone to making our strategy sustainable. If we want to change the nature of work in the North East for the long run, we need people who are ready to rise to the challenge.”

A new ‘North East Development and Investment Fund’ is proposed to better align local public and private sector assets, capital and revenue.

To facilitate this, the LEP proposes a six-year contribution from the Government’s Local Growth Fund from 2015/16 to 2020/21 of up to £60 million, to match £60 million of ERDF resources, and £55 million of the North East Investment Fund.

This incorporates Growing Places Fund and Regional Growth Fund, £100 million of North East Enterprise Zone receipts and local match funding. There are also plans to include land assets held locally and nationally.

In total the strategy aims to deploy £1.6 billion worth of investment.

Michael explained: “With this growth plan we have to apply for the North East’s share of the £2 billion Local Growth Fund. That’s very competitive and short-term in its nature.

“That has required us to look at the priority projects between 2015/2016 and put a good case forward, while making sure that we don’t take our eyes off the ball in the long run.

“We want to make sure that we’re not just grabbing what is available today, but building a sustainable future.”

The strategy will take shape under the watchful eye of the incoming Combined Authority model.

Michael added: “We will have to learn as a region how to make the Combined Authority work. The North East LEP board certainly welcome it, and I know the wider business community, in majority, are behind it.”

The full Strategic Economic Plan for the North East is available here.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .