Promoting infrastructure projects figures large on the Government’s plan to kick-start the economy. ICE’s South East and East of England Regions organised a joint breakfast briefing with SELEP last week (Thursday 11th) to look at the infrastructure needs of the area and agreed that much could be gained by developing a mutually beneficial partnership.
Glen Owen, Regional Director for ICE in the East of England said: “In the next year or so a Local Transport Board will be established which mirrors the SELEP area; there will be a consultation on a Third Lower Thames Crossing and discussions will continue about the delivery of future aviation capacity in the South East.
“All of these are areas where SELEP will be taking a lead and civil engineers can play an important role by making their professional knowledge and expertise available to provide the decision makers with impartial advice to help them make an informed decision. ICE is looking forward to working with SELEP as we believe that by working together we can bring big benefits to the county.”
South East LEP Director, Dr Susan Priest, said: “The meeting with ICE was a very useful one; SELEP is a business led organisation and there are a lot of civil engineering firms based in Essex, East Sussex and Kent and engaging with them is important to us.
“It is not just on major projects where their expertise will be useful to the LEP but on the more minor projects too, such as those being delivered through the Growing Places Fund and the infrastructure work which is integral to the success of the Enterprise Zones at Harlow and Sandwich.
“The LEP has an Infrastructure Working Group which we are sure will benefit from ICE input and we are now looking at the best ways to build a good working partnership between our two organisations.”
The South East Local Enterprise Partnership is a partnership of private and public sector leaders working together to create the most enterprising economy in England. It covers Essex, East Sussex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock. It is the largest strategic partnership of its kind outside London.
It represents a combined population of 3.9 million people and is home to more than 130,000 businesses, which provide more than 1.3 million jobs. It is a critical port and gateway area in a strategic location between London, Europe and the global economy.
The area covered by the LEP is the country’s economic powerhouse contributing £63 billion a year to the national economy. For more information on the South East LEP see here . You can also follow SELEP on Twitter @southeastlep
ICE South East and East of England have more than 16,000 members living and working in their respective regions. More information can be found at www.ice.org.uk. You can follow ICE East of England on Twitter: @ICEEoE and ICE East of England at Facebook.
______________________________________________