News from Sajeimpact and partners
We held our LLEP AGM and Board meeting this week at Charnwood Campus Science Innovation and Technology Park one of our amazing Enterprise Zones.
It was a different AGM this year as we reflected on the delivery over the past year and thanked our stakeholders for ongoing support, but of course reflected on the devolution agenda and the government decision to end the funding for LEPs and our transfer into democratic institutions is dominating our future plans.
AN ambitious expansion of an innovative workspace development for high-tech industries at the heart of Space City Leicester is starting to take shape.
Leicester City Council is expanding its existing Dock and Dock 2 workspace hub with two new Dock-style office buildings and a terrace of high-quality manufacturing spaces.
A letter, sent jointly from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Department for Business and Trade, confirms that central funding for LEPs will cease from April 2024.
The latest Sports Think Tank Podcast is now available
It has been another varied week for our Director Andy Reed in London and Leicestershire.
We are often asked how ‘retirement’ is going for our team so we ask - what retirement?
Andy said "I have seriously managed to slow down but there is enough to occupy my mind and plenty of challenges.
Work on a scheme to transform Market Place in Shepshed will get underway this month.
The Council will be creating a more open and more pedestrian-friendly space while increasing parking in the area for shoppers.
The improvements have been developed with Shepshed Town Council and Shepshed Town Team and are being funded by the borough council plus grants from LLEP and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
We ha an excellent meeting of the APPG for Sport yesterday in the House of Commons with the excellent Kim Leadbeater MP chairing.
We had eloquent and passionate introductions from Mark Lawrie from StreetGames UK Hitesh Patel from the Sport for Development Coalition and Sarah Kaye from Sported .We clearly now have the growing evidence base for the impact the hundreds of sports charities are having across the country and in constituencies. The OpenGoal framework passionately led by Simon Lansley demonstrates what impact we can have on delivering the government (This one and the next) objectives to tackle many social issues
LLEP welcomes Passivehaus accreditation for sport park pavilion
Andy Reed OBE, LLEP Co-Chair, said: “Sustainability is a pillar of our economic growth strategy and, in funding SportPark Pavilion 4, we enabled development of a superb building at the highest standards of energy efficiency.
I attended my first Midlands Engine Board on behalf of the East Midlands LEPS yesterday. We had building work going on so I was on mute more than usual!
I have always been a big advocate for an the East Midlands voice - pushing for Regional Assemblies as far back as the early 1990s. So the current devolution debate fascinates me at a personal, practical and policy level.
I previously never gave much thought to the West Midlands but working more collaboratively I see how similar our problems are and how much we have been overlooked by policy makers for too long.
LLEP Chair responds to Government decision to transfer functions to local authorities
Spring Budget states Government will transfer central support by April 2024
Updated policy position expected to be provided to LEPs by Summer
Announcement comes after months of LLEP work with local partners
The LLEP will continue to work closely with partners as it awaits Government guidance as to how its functions should be transferred to local authorities by April 2024.
