LEP seeks senior industry figure to lead bio-economy task group

The York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership is seeking a senior figure from agriculture, food or bio-renewables industries, to chair an industry led task group.

The group’s primary aim is to identify the major investments needed to secure York’s position as a global leader in bio-renewable products and materials.

The bio-economy is a strong USP and major economic opportunity for the area. Locally, there are four times more agriculture and food businesses than the English average, along with a significant number of global food brands such as Nestle, Heineken and McCain and far more sector specialist scientists than average.

Chairman Barry Dodd CBE of the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) said: “It makes sense to focus our efforts in the bio-economy. We have had some major wins recently in terms of agriculture and food, such as £50m of Government investment in two Centres of Excellence at Sand Hutton.

“The University of York is leading a large agri-food project for the N8 consortium of northern universities, and Yorkshire’s first Food Enterprise Zone is getting underway in Malton. We need to augment this with significant investments in bio-renewables, to capitalise on our industrial base and the knowledge and expertise of organisations like the Biorenewables Development Centre.”

The focus of the task group is to respond to the needs of industry, identifying the capital investments which will enable businesses in the region to accelerate growth and capitalise on this global opportunity.

Chairman Barry Dodd added: “Bio-renewables are going to be hugely important in future, as we face the twin challenges of feeding a growing population and moving away from fossil fuels. We will continue to work with our partners to build on the great work that has already taken place and establish a pipeline of investments that meet the growth needs of industry.”