Heart of the South West (HotSW), the Local Enterprise Partnership for Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay will launch its Business Plan at a full meeting for Business Forum members at the Tiverton Hotel on 3rd April.
The Business Plan sets out the objectives, opportunities and priority initiatives for the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) over the coming months.
HotSW Chair, Tim Jones said: “The launch of the Business Plan is a very important milestone for the LEP. There is much work to be done to create catalysts for economic growth and development across our area. The Plan brings together our vision and objectives, as well as our priorities for the coming months.
“We need to harness the expertise, will and ability from our business and public sectors to create opportunities for growth, increase our competitiveness and enable entrepreneurial flair and innovation.”
Business Forum members will have the opportunity to see for themselves the results of the LEP’s extensive consultation with businesses, organizations and the public sector across the HotSW area. Stakeholder engagement events were held in Exeter, Plymouth and Somerset.
In addition to the launch, the LEP will use the opportunity to provide feedback to Forum members on many key concerns arising from the engagement events. One of the most important has been identifying and collating business perceptions of the key barriers to economic growth in the South West.
The LEP will set out some of its proposals to facilitate task groups to begin addressing these issues.
Rupert Cox, Chair of the Business Forum said: “The Business Forum has a vital role, acting as a ‘critical friend’ to the LEP. The Business Plan has been developed with a huge amount of input from the Forum members, and I would encourage all members to attend the launch.”
The meeting is only open to members of the Business Forum.
For more information on the work of the Heart of the South West, please visit www.heartofswlep.co.uk
Ends
Notes to Eds:
There will be a separate media launch where LEP Board members will be available for interview on 3rd April. Details will be issued to media when finalised.
For more information, contact Liz Waugh or Julie Everett at Coast Communications on 01752 847135 / 07966 388921
Heart of the South West
The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has been formed under the leadership of the private sector supported by the local authorities from Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay and the area’s District Councils. It is one of 32 partnerships created since the Government’s Local Growth White Paper published in October 2010. More information about the work of the LEP is available from the website www.heartofswlep.co.uk.