Bold vision of a £30 billion economy

BUSINESS leaders across Warrington and Cheshire have put forward a bold vision for the next 10 years with the creation of a £30 billion economy and 30,000 jobs.
The strategy would result in the area becoming one of the top five performing economies nationally, according to the Cheshire and Warrington Enterprise Partnership (CWEP).
A period of consultation with partner organisations has been completed by the submission of CWEP’s strategic economic plan to the government.
The document sets out a strategy for economic growth over the next decade, and outlines how it will use all resources to deliver this.
The plan provides the basis for government to determine the level of funding that the area will receive from the Local Growth Fund, which will deliver over £2 billion of national investment per annum from 2015.
The strategy outlines the opportunities for growth in Cheshire and Warrington and highlights the importance of the sub-region.
The submission of the strategic economic plan builds upon the excellent work carried out by CWEP over the last two years.
Perhaps the most high profile project is the unlocking of Warrington’s Omega development which has been stalled for more than a decade.
Recent activity on the site has included the opening of the new £7 million “Lockheed” access road, the building of a new Travis Perkins 700,000 sq ft logistics and distribution unit and a new ASDA project, where work has now commenced to build a logistics centre and office space on Omega South.
By the end of this month, the £3m funding which was loaned to Omega will be returned to the Growing Places Fund, managed by CWEP. This will free up significant resources for the sub-region and will prompt the next major call for projects requiring funding in the New Year.
Another significant project for CWEP includes collaborating with BT and local councils on access to the latest in broadband technology. This will ensure that by 2015, 96 per cent of businesses and households will have access to high speed fibre broadband.
CWEP has also established “Inspiring Apprentices” which was formed to address declining apprenticeship numbers across Cheshire and Warrington. Key initiatives include the “Apprenticeship Promise” which has been developed to encourage businesses to support the region’s young people on the pathway to employment.
More than 100 businesses have already pledged their support with numbers increasing week on week.
A new brand identity and website will also be launched for CWEP designed to communicate what Cheshire and Warrington has to offer.
This focuses on ‘871’ – the total square mileage of Cheshire and Warrington offering the potential for opportunity, innovation, ambition, inspiration and growth.
CWEP chairman Christine Gaskell said: “The submission of the strategic economic plan signals the end of a very busy year. We now have a growth plan in place for Cheshire and Warrington, which is the blueprint for restoring our sub-region as one of the country’s top locations for economic growth and competitiveness.
“The submission of this strategy is not the end of the process, but it is just the start of a challenging and very rewarding journey, where we will maximise the opportunities that exist in Cheshire and Warrington. We are currently gearing up to face the challenges ahead and in order to implement our new strategy we are in the process of bringing on board new skills so we are properly equipped for the coming year. We are also strengthening our board membership, recruiting new members with the appropriate skill sets to complement the existing teams.
“Our key strategic drivers; skills, business growth, the new European programme, housing, transport, infrastructure and innovation mean that we will begin the New Year with a clear focus and commitment to ensuring that we drive further growth in our resilient and diverse economy.”