The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) was established in 2011 and is one of 38 in the national LEP network. LEP’s are voluntary partnerships between business and local government to help determine local economic priorities, support local growth and stimulate job creation within the local area. LEP organisation and governance are different throughout the country, with priorities being determined by local partnerships and tailored to the perceived needs of each sub region.
LEPs have evolved since their foundation and are now seen by Government as important mechanisms to distribute and allocate resources to the local level in order to support economic growth. Part of the funding packages is done by competitive bidding, and allocation of the Governments Local Growth Fund.
While LEPs have no formal statutory planning powers they are seen by Government as important stakeholders in the process of drawing up and reviewing local plans. Government Guidance requires all planning authorities to have a clear understanding of the business needs of their economic markets - it sees LEPs as organisations which can help local authorities understand markets, identify trends and change - all of which may necessitate changes to plan policies and proposals.
The Coventry and Warwickshire LEP plays an active part in development planning across the sub region as well as being actively involved in assisting both large and small businesses in development management and property related matters that impact on individual businesses.
The work of the LEP Board is supported by several key sub committees and business groups. These include the Planning & Housing and Transport & Infrastructure Business Groups, which have a number of core objectives closely associated with land use planning .The Groups are made up of representatives from both public and private sector interests including government stakeholder bodies such as Homes England.
Joint working is a key to the success of the CWLEP and local plans being adopted. Joint planning initiatives have been championed by government and remain key to the Memorandums of Understanding between the Coventry & Warwickshire LPA’s.
The C&W SEP identifies four key pillars of activity for improving the economic performance and creating dynamic and rapid change across the sub region. The priorities of the CWLEP can be found in The CWLEP Strategic Economic Plan (SEP)