Heart of the South West LEP
The Heart of the South West (HotSW) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was formed in 2011 with the purpose to lead and influence outcomes for economy of Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay by improving economic growth and job creation.
The partnership, under the leadership of the private sector and supported by the local authorities from Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay and the areas' District Councils is working towards improving economic growth, creating new jobs and prosperity across the South West.
At Present the LEP has succeeded in:
- Securing £25m of funding for the area, with more expected through the Regional Growth Fund.
- Distributing the £21.5 million Growing Places Fund, a new funding initiative to unlock stalled infrastructure throughout the area to create jobs.
- Signing a trade agreement with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), making it the official body responsible for coordinating foreign direct investment across the area.
- Successfully applied to be one of five pilots to develop a programme to improve the rural economy under the Rural Growth Network bid with an award of £2.9m.
- Publishing a full business plan outlining the strategic vision for the next five years.
- Forging and developing effective relationships between the government, private, public and the third sector.
Key to this success has been the LEP’s work in partnership with private businesses. Businesses are the closest to government than they ever have been, as the LEP brings together the private sector with local authorities via a direct link to central government.
The HotSW LEP is one of 39 partnerships created since the Government’s Local Growth White Paper published in October 2010. The map below illustrates the geographical coverage of the partnership.
To learn more about the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, visit http://www.heartofswlep.co.uk.