John Spence, chairman of the South East LEP

JOINT working between Local Enterprise Partnerships will play a vital role in driving forward key projects to help boost the country’s economy, an LEP leader has pledged.

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John Spence, chairman of the South East LEP, which covers Essex, Kent and East Sussex, was speaking at a meeting of the Haven Gateway Partnership.

The Haven Gateway initiative brings together businesses and local authority partners in the area around the Haven Ports, which include Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich.

With members in both north Essex and south-east Suffolk, the Haven Gateway partnership straddles two LEPs – the South East LEP and New Anglia LEP, which covers Suffolk and Norfolk.

Mr Spence said: “The South East LEP’s clear mission is to create the most enterprising economy in England.

“We are already the powerhouse of the national economy, and we recognise that supporting growth and enterprise is an absolute priority for helping steer the country through turbulent economic times.

“The strength of our partnership stems from its collegiate nature, and we hope that this will positively impact upon innovative and creative relationships with our neighbours. We have an important agenda around skills, strategic transport infrastructure and stimulating growth, but we cannot, and will not go it alone.

“We will work in partnership with our neighbouring LEPs to ensure the whole of the Greater South East and, by extension, UK plc, gets the best possible benefit from those interventions we choose to support.”

He added: “The Haven Gateway Partnership is a good example of an organisation which is working to mould these relationships to maximum effect.”