Although it was published in March 2016, this is worth re-reading in the light of declining economic forecasts for which our LEP has no contingency plans.
Here is just a flavour of it with its “Executive Summary”. It is a masterpiece of spin over substance.
And who on earth thought up the “‘golden thread from the bottom up”!
“Our vision is to transform the reputation and positioning of our area nationally and globally by 2030.
We want the key strengths of the Heart of the South West to be seen as key assets of UK plc. We want our people, places and business to see the public and private sector work together for their benefit; capitalising on the opportunities on our doorstep, realising the potential for high growth in our knowledge economy, and securing more and higher value jobs.
However, addressing the vulnerability of our critical infrastructure and investing in strategic enablers are key to unleashing our growth potential.
Our Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) sets out our understanding of the challenges we have to overcome and our priorities for action. It has been developed in collaboration and consultations with partners from business, education, the public sector and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sectors, ensuring a golden thread runs through it from the bottom up, taking into account local plans and aspirations; and top down, taking into account national policy objectives and guidelines.
Our SEP will be the base document for our approach to investment and funding opportunities until its review in 2020 and will be delivered through a number of mechanisms over its lifetime. The Plymouth and Peninsula City Deal, the European Structural and Investment Strategy and the Growth Deal 2015, submitted alongside our SEP, are key delivery strands agreed or negotiated in 2014. Others may follow.”
https://www.lepnetwork.net/modules/downloads/download.php?file_name=19
But the consultations referred to above did not include us – the voters. The ” golden thread” doesn’t actually start at the bottom!
East Devon Watch 