The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership is one of 38 LEPs in England. Our purpose is to lead and influence economic growth, job creation and prosperity across the Heart of the South West area covering Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.
Comprised of business leaders from across our key sectors, the LEP Board oversees the programme of infrastructure, business support and skills projects being delivered by 2025.
Responsible for the day to day running of the LEP, the core team supports the Board in delivering the LEP strategy.
The LEP’s Plan to Build Back Better sets out the transformational opportunities in the Heart of the South West area that will unlock investment, create more and better jobs and deliver prosperity and resilience through clean and inclusive growth. The plan is rooted in the ambitious vision of our Local Industrial Strategy.
Clean and Inclusive growth are the overarching themes of the Local Industrial Strategy.
We manage a portfolio of over three-quarters of a billion pounds that we’re investing into over 80 infrastructure, business support and skills packages.
The 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme for England brings together three funds:
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) >
Are you a Business entrepreneur or thinking of relocating your business?
Discover transformational opportunities in the Heart of the South West >
Find out why companies are coming to the Heart of the South West >
Skills Launchpad can help you find information about skills, careers, training and jobs in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.
If you are a local business owner seeking advice and support for your business, the Growth Hub can help.
Free at the point of access, questions can be about anything a business may want to ask.
Our Business Bulletins provide a comprehensive summary of business sentiment across the Heart of the South West, along with national and regional business intelligence.
Businesses thrive in the Heart of the South West with its excellent value, quality development sites and premises, skilled workforce and business support. Our strong private, public, education and third sector partnerships are driving the economy forward in this destination of choice.
The LEP monitors a wide range of economic indicators and commissions specific research to ensure our work reflects the latest understanding of the area’s challenges and opportunities. In this section you can access these reports and the evidence base which underpins our Build Back Better plan. Click on the links below to find out more:
Build Back Better evidence base >
Further research undertaken by our local authority partners can be accessed here:
Growing Our Economy > Nuclear South West
Nuclear SW – delivering £50 Billion of nuclear opportunities to the South West business community and workforce over the next decade.
HotSW LEP is working hard to ensure that the catalyst of the first new nuclear build project in the UK for a generation at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, provides a lasting sustainable economic legacy for the HotSW area and beyond.
The current construction at Hinkley is estimated to cost in excess of £20billion, with a significant proportion of that investment potentially being spent within the UK and the South West. The LEP is not funding any of this cost, and the area is set to benefit from the employment, skills and supply chain opportunities that Europe’s largest project will bring.
There is a significant nuclear sector cluster group – Nuclear South West. which is a partnership of Industry, academia, skills, business support and public sector stakeholders. The Cluster Aims to secure the benefits of this investment to the local business & resident community, as well as maximising the benefits from the wider sector in terms of the whole civil nuclear life-cycle as well as nuclear defence. Nuclear South West is capitalising on the South West’s unparalleled strength and potential in the global nuclear industry; and generating transformational economic benefits to the UK and regional business community. The facts and figures are:
We have an impressive suite of assets to support this ambition which includes the following activity specifically supported by investments secured by the HOTSW LEP:
Additionally there are other key initiatives across the wider SW, which add value to and compliment the wider offer, which include:
The partnership includes HotSW LEP, West of England Combined Authority, Dorset LEP and Gloucester First LEP.
Nuclear SW is charged to develop a programme of activity to ensure that business and the workforce have the capability and skills that are required at the right time.
Across the South West economic landscape we recognise the significance of the nuclear sector and its supply chain, and the important role it plays in providing clean energy. We are committed to working collaboratively to ensure we maximise the benefit to UK plc from predicted advanced engineering growth in the nuclear sector. We have shared ideas, concepts, and proposals that support individual plans developed in our Local Industrial Strategies.
We see significant benefit and potential for our part of the world to be at the very forefront of developments in this important global sector.
The evidence for this was highlighted in a report we commissioned in 2018 the link to which is below. This was also reinforced by the conclusions of the South West and Wales Science and Innovation Audit that highlighted our world class nuclear industrial expertise.
Why the region is at the forefront of advanced nuclear technologies including fusion is explained in this video.
Nuclear SW will market these activities coherently and continue to shape an environment that encourages greater inward investment from key companies; and further develops the local supply chain while making sure that the innovation, research and development needs can be delivered locally; as well as providing a skilled workforce.
Recent activity includes:
More details can be found in the annual report included with relevant documents below.
We will post regular updates here -also visit www.nuclearsw.co.uk/ for news of upcoming events, and for more detail about specific projects
Here is the link www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hAO2Jca7Xs
The LEP’s New Nuclear Coordinator is Corinne Matthews, and she can be contacted by phone or email – corinne.matthews@heartofswlep.co.uk 07881 218670
The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership is one of 38 LEPs in England. Our purpose is to lead and influence economic growth, job creation and prosperity across the Heart of the South West area covering Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.
Chief Executive
David Ralph started as Chief Executive of Heart of South West LEP at the beginning of June 2018. Previously, he had spent 5 years as CEO of the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire (D2N2) LEP from 2013 where he oversaw the development of the D2N2 Strategic Economic Plan and sector strategies, 3 Growth Deals with HM Government to deliver a £1billion capital investment programme, securing and implementing £200m ESIF programme, the Derby and Nottingham Enterprise Zone, the D2N2 Skills Deal and Time for Innovation programme, community fund and led the executive team to develop the HS2 East Midlands hub. He was also closely involved in the proposed North Midlands Devolution Deal and one of the key architects in establishing the Midlands Engine, chairing the officer steering group. Whilst in this role David was a NED of the Nottingham Enterprise Zone, and Marketing NG, the Outer Estates Foundation and a Governor of Nottingham College and on the advisory Board of Nottingham Business School.
Before the East Midlands, David was CEO of the Have Gateway Partnership working closely with local stakeholders including the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich and BT Adadastral Park across Suffolk and Essex and prior to that was Chief Exec of the Barton Hill New Deal for Communities programme in Bristol and the Nelm Development Trust in Norwich.
David is a keen sailor, walker and trail runner.