The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has officially launched its economic strategy with a pledge to “champion the local economy while safeguarding the very things that make Cornwall and Scilly special”.
The strategy, which will set the course of Cornwall’s economy for the next eight years, was launched via a webcast from the Pool Innovation Centre.
It included a short film showcasing successful Cornish businesses and a live Q&A session with LEP chairman Chris Pomfret and fellow board member Simon Tregonning, chairman of Classic Cottages in Helston.
Explaining the LEP’s guiding principle in drawing up the strategy, Pomfret said: “Sustainable development lies at the heart of this strategy because if in increasing the social and economic wellbeing of the people of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly we destroy the environment – the landscape, its biodiversity, its communities, culture and heritage – then we will have failed.”
The strategy itself, which follows consultation with hundreds of local businesses and a series of roadshows across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, is based on four key priorities: business growth, skills, knowledge and the environment.
It details what the LEP would like to see happen with each of these priorities, and what it proposes to do to help achieve them.
The strategy has been welcomed by local business leaders. Shaun Galloway, finance director at Ginsters, said: “The draft strategy document is very welcome, balanced and defines a sound overall guiding policy for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly which the Samworth Brothers’ businesses in Cornwall support.”
Paul Wickes, chief executive of the Cornwall Marine Network, added: “The LEP has produced a strategy that supports skills and innovation to enable economic growth. CMN is delighted to see the focus on marine renewable energy and the opportunity for all businesses to contribute towards sustainable growth.”
To download a copy of the Economic Growth Strategy for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 2012-2020, and to watch the strategy launch webcast in full, click here.
