Liberal Democrat Councillors in Northamptonshire are celebrating a government decision this afternoon to back their plans for a South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), covering Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes and parts of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire.
The LEPs replace Labour’s Regional Development Agencies, giving business a bigger voice in the allocation of regional growth funds.
After months of wrangling between Lib Dem-run Northampton Borough Council and Conservative-run Northamptonshire County Council, who favoured a county-only Crossroads of England proposal, the Coalition confirmed they would be backing the South East Midlands partnership.
Scott Collins, Parliamentary Spokesman for the Liberal Democrats in South Northamptonshire said “This is fantastic new for South Northants and all the Districts involved in the SEMLEP plan. I hope now that the County Council will abandon their own plan for an alternative LEP. This current collection of Districts makes economic sense and ensures that the LEP is big enough to be taken seriously by government when it comes to funding applications and also features the key town of Northampton, Bedford and Milton Keynes”
Map of the South East Midlands Local Economic Partnership
Responding to the news, Leader of Northampton Borough Council, Cllr. Brian Hoare, said:
“This is good news for growth and good news for jobs in Northamptonshire.
“A South East Midlands partnership makes good use of our strategic location between London and Birmingham, and Oxford and Cambridge, and reflects existing economic and business links to the South of the town.
“Liberal Democrat colleagues and I want Northamptonshire to really punch its weight in the UK by leveraging our advantage in growth areas like engineering, construction and the creative arts and developing new expertise in cognate industries like green energy and logistics.
He was backed by Opposition Leader on Northamptonshire County Council, Cllr. Brendan Glynane, who added:
“Northamptonshire has been poorly served as part of the East Midlands. Our public and private sectors have been consistently overlooked for inward investment over the years.
“This is set to change. A Northamptonshire at the heart of the South East Midlands has the potential to be one of the UK‘s premier places to invest in the coming years.”
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