14 January 2011
Northeast England is to get a Local Enterprise Partnership, the twenty-eighth to be approved so far.
It will cover Durham, Northumberland and the Tyne & Wear conurbation. A separate LEP already covers the adjacent Tees Valley area.
The decision still leaves large areas of England with no LEPs, mainly in the West Country and rural parts of the north.
Business minister Mark Prisk said the new LEP would ‘play a crucial role in driving local economic growth across the country and creating a strong environment for business’.
Business leaders in the region have also established a North East Economic Partnership to work on issues of strategic importance across the North East and Tees Valley.
LEPs are being set up to replace regional development agencies. The bulk of them – 24 – were approved in October. The Black Country, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Worcestershire subsequently joined this list.
