2015 has been a very successful year for the LEP and for Greater Lincolnshire as a whole. We secured more funding for the area in the second round of government Growth Deals, bringing total investment of £146.2 million by 2021, and a number of projects benefiting from this funding are now beginning to take shape.
We have also been busy working to improve our agrifood sector – one of the most important elements of our economy. We have created a Food Board, launched our Agrifood Plan which aims to will double the sector’s contribution to the economy by 2030, and secured funding to develop three new Food Enterprise Zones. We will also be launching an important Water Management Plan next year to support our growth and the food sector and to reduce the risk of flooding.
2016 will be a very important year for us. We expect to see progress made on all our Growth Deal projects, from road improvement schemes to new housing, and we are looking forward to the official opening of phase two of Bishop Burton’s Riseholme College Showground Campus and the Boole Technology Centre on the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park.
Our priority continues to be improvements to our infrastructure, including road networks, public transport links and superfast broadband access – those living in rural areas and even many urban locations will be able to testify how badly needed this is. There are still weakness in the important links between producers and their markets, between people and workplaces, between skills needs and training opportunities, and between visitors and tourist attractions. We will not fully realise Greater Lincolnshire’s potential until we have remedied these.
In 2015 we put in place a new body to support businesses which need advice and guidance to grow and help with finance. The Greater Lincolnshire Growth Hub was officially launched in October but it has been hard at work since the summer, delivering high-quality business diagnostics and support packages across our area.
2016 will also be an important year for the English regions. There has been much talk about the Northern Powerhouse, the Midlands Engine and devolution – all buzzwords which reflect the fact that rebalancing power and prosperity between London and the rest of the country are high on the agenda in Whitehall and at your local LEP.
The Government has encouraged areas to request devolved powers and in September all Greater Lincolnshire’s local authorities and the Greater Lincolnshire LEP submitted an expression of interest for ambitious plans to bring more local power and responsibility in areas such as transport, skills, growth, policing and health.
We believe that certain services and projects would be more efficient and achieve better outcomes if they were run locally than nationally as at present. It is vital that we make business part of the devolution arrangements so that the public sector and the private sector work together on economic growth and development with a shared understanding.
Parallel to the devolution discussions is a move to realise the full economic potential of the Midlands region. In December the Business Secretary Sajid Javid MP launched the Midlands Engine prospectus, a document which aims to boost productivity, attract inward investment, increase connectivity and build a regional tourism offer in the Midlands. Greater Lincolnshire is one of 11 LEPs which pooled their ambitions in the Midlands Engine prospectus and we look forward to moving this agenda forward in 2016.
So, looking forward, 2016 will be a year of challenges and opportunities for Greater Lincolnshire. I am sure that with the support of businesses, councils and local people we can overcome the challenges, seize the opportunities and build a prosperous future for Greater Lincolnshire.
My New Year’s Resolution
As a Local Enterprise Partnership we are committed to working as hard as we possibly can to improve the conditions for business and enterprise in Greater Lincolnshire.
Ursula Lidbetter is the Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Co-operative and the Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership
Ursula Lidbetter is the Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Co-operative and the Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership
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Have I Got News For You star Paul Merton will perform his show ‘Impro Chums’ on stage at the New Theatre Royal Lincoln later this month.
Merton, Richard Vranch, Suki Webster, Mike McShane, and accompanist Kirsty Newton are back on the road, with Lincoln among the stops on the tour for an evening of improvisation.
Tickets are on sale priced at £25 for the show at 7.30pm on Tuesday, May 31 – buy your tickets here.
Merton is a writer, actor, comedian and radio and television present, who is known for his improvisation skill and deadpan humour. He is a founder member of The Comedy Store Players and still appears at the Comedy Store in London most Sundays.
The 64-year-old is also a resident guest on BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute and his travel series on Channel Five called Paul Merton’s Adventures covered India, China and Europe. Last summer he co-stared with Suki Website in Motorhoming with Paul Merton as part of a six-part travel documentary for Channel 5.
His autobiography ‘Only When I Laugh’ reached the Sunday Times bestseller Top 10.
A 22-year-old man who died in a motorbike crash in Lincoln will be given a final send off with a rip-roaring procession on the way to his funeral.
Connor Peters, 22, tragically died in a crash on the B1190 Lincoln Road on Monday, May 9, as his black Lexmoto motorcycle collided with a white Isuzu van.
He unfortunately died at the scene, and a fundraiser was set up for the “cheeky, loveable rogue” to have the send off “he deserves”. At the time of reporting there is a remarkable £5,000 on the GoFundMe page, which you can visit here.
Connor Peters, pictured here with his mum, tragically died in a crash on Monday, May 9. | Photo: GoFundMe
Now, plans have been made for a motorbike procession to join the hearse taking Connor to his funeral service. The event, titled Connor Peters’ Last Ride, has been organised by his brother Josh.
It will take place at 11.50am on Monday, June 13, starting from Larne Road in Lincoln.
Josh says on the event’s Facebook page: “As a family, we are wanting a full motorcycle procession behind the funeral car, we want as many bikes, trikes, mopeds anything. We want so much noise remove all baffles removed, pops and bangs enough so he can hear from up there.
“Connor was a 22 year old lad that was full of life and was loved by so many, he loved his little 125cc, he thought that he had finally hit the big time but due to a awful turn of events he lost his life doing something he loved.
“For many of us bikers we can understand the love and passion he had for that short period of time. A biker fallen hits us all but we all club together to make an effort to remember those we lost.”
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