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Heart of the South West LEP Enterprise Zone announced for South Yard Plymouth

In response to the Treasury announcement today that the Heart of the South West’s first Enterprise Zone has been designated at South Yard, Plymouth, HotSW LEP and Plymouth City Council are at the ready to harness the opportunities for transformational growth for businesses in Plymouth and throughout the area.

The scale of commitment and ambition helped Plymouth and the Peninsula seal the deal for the Enterprise Zone business case, said Council leader Tudor Evans. He said: “We wanted to impress upon the Government that the level of commitment and ambition we have for the South Yard is shared across the peninsula as we will all benefit from having an even stronger marine sector.

“The marine industries production campus we want to see here is a key part of the City Deal programme, which could create more than 9,000 jobs and bring in more than £290 million in much-needed investment to the South West.

“Enterprise Zone status will make this campus more attractive to investors as it means they can put more money into their business, which is good for company growth and good for jobs.
“We have had a lot of interest in the site already and this is another carrot to dangle in front of companies. It is great example of how working with local economic partnerships not only pays dividends for the city but has wider benefits for the region.”

Having the South Yard designated as an enterprise zone brings major benefits for businesses based there including business rate discounts, faster broadband speeds and tax breaks.

Under the deal, the Heart of the South West LEP will use the business rates collected over the next 25 years to pay for investments into South Yard, helping to speed up the rate development of the site; attracting more businesses and generating more growth.

Heart of the South West LEP Chair, Steve Hindley said: “This is a historic achievement for the HotSW LEP and Plymouth City Council, and is a further step on our journey towards transformational growth. Plymouth City Council has worked tirelessly on putting together this impressive bid that has enabled the LEP to secure its first Enterprise Zone within the Heart of the South West area.

“The innovative scheme has attracted much attention as an exemplar in regeneration, with visits from senior government and civil service people this year – including the Prime Minister – so we welcome the Chancellor on his visit today.”

Naval Base Commander Cdr Shipperley added: “We have been working hard with the city council and the LEP and I am pleased to see this progress. It is a very important development for the economy of Plymouth and the wider peninsula and this status will further strengthen its new and exciting future.”

The business case submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government designates the whole of South Yard an Enterprise Zone amounting to 35 hectares. The Heart of the South West Local Economic Partnership (HotSW LEP) is accountable for the delivery of the Enterprise Zone, working with Plymouth City Council. A 25 hectare area including the historic docks in South Yard is planned to be released by MoD to support the City Deal, enabling land and docking facilities to be brought into commercial and naval use.

Plans for a marine industries production campus was granted outline planning permission and in June Plymouth City Council gave the go-ahead to hire specialist technical and design contractors to take on the complex task of preparing and developing the site for its new future.

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      David Ralph

      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.