Agenda item

Kevin Travers, Transport Project Manager, gave a presentation in respect of the work of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was a public/private partnership which had been set up to support and sustain economic growth within the M3 corridor. Since 2014, the M3 LEP has acted as a facilitator to promote economic growth and bring businesses and local government closer together. The LEP spends, secures and supports various streams of funding to help start-up businesses and to promote business and enterprise in the area. The partnership has also emerged as an advocate and champion of the Local Area.

The Enterprise Area covered the region between the port city of Southampton and Heathrow Airport and had a Gross Domestic Product similar to that of Denmark. It was recognised the Enterprise Area was home to 3.1% of UK businesses and its main export partner was the USA; primarily in the field of defence products and services.  Camberley has been identified within the Enterprise Area as a ‘step-up town’, which had unfulfilled economic potential.

Since 2014 the LEP has secured £219.1 million of Growth Deal funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government and in total money has been spent on 45 different products. Of this £18 Million had been spent on projects within Surrey Heath including improvements to the Blackwater Valley Connectivity project, the ongoing Camberley Town Centre Public Realm project and a £1.5 million loan to develop Chobham SANG and mitigate the impact of 80 new homes. Future projects funded by the LEP would include improvements to the Meadows Gyratory, Blackwater Valley Gold Grid and a package of junction, streetscape and highway improvements to the A30, London Road in Camberley.

The LEP planned to develop a 5G Gaming Hub in Camberley and the surrounding M3 Enterprise Areas in the upcoming years. The proposed Gaming Hub would build upon the existing games design communities in Camberley, Guildford and Aldershot and would aim to foster growth in the creative and digital industries. The LEP had aims to develop the area’s infrastructure to enable it to harness new technologies in the future such as electric and driverless cars. A local low-Carbon Strategy was also being developed for the Enterprise Area. 

Arising from the Committee’s questions and comments the following points were noted:

·         Securing of greater Central Government funding had enabled the onset of various Camberley ‘Step-up Town’ initiatives such as the Blackwater Valley Gold Grid Project, which would provide significant improvements to transport links between Camberley and the surrounding towns, and would fund the Camberley Town Centre Public Realm improvements.

·         Even though there was potential for greater opportunities and faster connectivity via the growth of 5G, there were still improvements to be made in regard to local 4G and 3G connectivity particularly between Camberley Town Centre and the Meadows Roundabout.

·         The M3 Enterprise Area was in a good geographical position to capitalise on the new potential trade opportunities resulting from the UK leaving the European Union. It was noted the M3 is a major gateway to Heathrow Airport and the Port of Southampton.

·         LEP funding streams were often staggered across several year periods. The Local Growth Fund allocations for 2014- 2021 were supplied in three separate parts: in 2014, 2015, and 2017. The LEP allocated the majority of these funds as loans or grants to partners’ projects, such as those of local authorities, universities and businesses. Between £7 million and £8 million allotted for project loans in 2018 had not yet been allocated.

·         There was a balance to be struck between sustainable transport projects such as the creation of the pedestrian and cycle route on the Blackwater Valley Relief Road and the allocation of funding towards maintaining the conditions of existing infrastructure.

The Committee thanked Kevin Travers for his informative presentation and update.