Boom time for Hertfordshire

The world’s media spotlight has shone brightly on our county this past week after Hertfordshire secured over £1bn investment in its world-leading cell and gene therapy and film and TV industries, and the Prime Minister visited Stevenage on Monday to open Airbus' new £35m UK space and defence headquarters.

With £400m for a new life sciences campus on the GSK site and Broxbourne chosen as the location for Hollywood’s £700m Sunset Studios, investor confidence in our county has never been higher. Investments like these have a major impact on the local economy, invigorating supply chains and creating a spiral effect that continues to encourage so many major multinationals to come to Hertfordshire.

Our unique role in convening local government, further and higher education, third sector/social enterprise, led by business continues to ensure that our county’s plans are compelling and relevant for inward investment and that we are helping our local people realise their ambitions.

Over the past decade, Hertfordshire LEP has developed a strong, coherent and consistent growth narrative for Hertfordshire, highlighting the opportunities available to businesses and communities across the county, as well as the risks and responsibilities that come with them.

As part of our Economic Recovery Plan, the first suite of strategic documents has now been published to help shape the growth trajectory in Hertfordshire for the next decade. These are:

Enterprise and Innovation Strategy 2021-2025 which draws on the county’s SME base and proposes five key pillars with sustainability at its core.
Its sister document provides the evidence base for a Cell and Gene Therapy Cluster Action Plan;
Updated Skills and Employment Strategy which provides a roadmap out of the pandemic by accelerating and strengthening skills provision to meet employers’ needs and helping businesses thrive, whilst supporting residents to reach their potential.

This autumn we will publish our Clean Growth Strategy and at our Annual Conference we will be launching our Film and TV Sector Action Plan and establishing a Task Group.

Our challenge now will be to ensure our local people and businesses really benefit from this huge upsurge in investor confidence. Our approach to skills will be vital to this.

Mark Bretton, Chair, Hertfordshire LEP and the LEP Network

General news

Hollywood comes to Hertfordshire

Investor Blackstone and real estate giant Hudson Pacific Properties have announced plans to launch Sunset Studios in Broxbourne, providing a major boost to Hertfordshire's thriving film and TV cluster. The £700m studio will be built on a 91 acre site and is expected to create over 4,500 jobs and contribute £300m per annum to the local economy.

GSK to expand its Stevenage life sciences campus

GSK has unveiled plans to transform land within its 92-acre R&D site in Stevenage into one of Europe’s largest clusters for biotechnology and early-stage life science companies. Adrian Hawkins OBE, Chair of Stevenage Development Board and the LEP's Skills & Employment Board, spoke to BBC Three Counties radio about the plans.

Stevenage joins global venture capital leader-board

A new report from Savills identifies Stevenage as being one of the top 25 cities in the world outside of the US in terms of the amount of life sciences-related venture capital raised in 2020. Other UK cities to feature on the leader-board include Oxford, Cambridge and London.

Call for a policy shift to aid recovery in airport towns

At a regional aviation industry summit hosted by the Catalyst South group of LEPs, business leaders called on Government for a clear policy on opening borders to enable the South’s airport towns to start rebuilding their economies. Jobs, green growth and diversification were identified as key priorities.

Business

LEP publishes Enterprise & Innovation Strategy to 2025

The strategy sets out ambitions for Hertfordshire’s recovery from the pandemic, drawing on the county’s strengths and focusing on small businesses which overwhelmingly make up the local economy. It proposes initiatives under five key pillars, with sustainability at its core.

Growing Hertfordshire's cell and gene therapy cluster

A new report commissioned by the LEP identifies the key interventions needed to unlock the potential of Hertfordshire's globally significant cell and gene therapy cluster, centred in Stevenage, and ensure it continues to be a catalyst for UK life sciences growth.

£3m scheme to decarbonise Maylands Business Park

The Eastern New Energy research project aims to accelerate the race to net zero at a grassroots level by decarbonising Maylands Business Park in Hemel Hempstead, home to over 650 businesses and part of Hertfordshire IQ. Supported by a triumvirate of LEPs including Hertfordshire LEP, the pilot scheme will provide a model for business parks across the country.

Herts SMEs benefit from 1,000+ hours of free support

Since its launch in July 2020, the Volunteer Business Support Scheme has provided 1-2-1 support to over 270 Hertfordshire businesses struggling to cope with the pandemic. The scheme, which has now been extended to the end of November 2021, is part of the LEP's £3.28m business support package and was set up by Hertfordshire Growth Hub and the University of Hertfordshire.

Visit Herts BIGGER Weekend

Visit Herts' 'Herts Bigger Weekend 2021' is set to take place from 25 September. The event will give local people a chance to discover the array of fantastic things to see and do on their doorstep, while providing a marketing boost to Hertfordshire's tourism and hospitality sector businesses. Businesses wishing to take part in the campaign are invited to register online by 12 August.

Queen's Awards for Enterprise

On 19 July, Hertfordshire LEP and Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce hosted a webinar to support local businesses interested in entering the Queen's Awards for Enterprise. Watch the webinar recording. The Chamber is now inviting businesses that have applied to take a short questionnaire to provide feedback on their experience.

Grants to help SMEs reduce their carbon footprint

Low Carbon Workspaces offers match-funded grants of up to £5,000 to help businesses subsidise the cost of upgrading equipment in order to reduce their carbon footprint, improve energy efficiency and cut down on energy bills. The programme has awarded grants to over 200 Hertfordshire SMEs to date.

People

Skills key to unlocking Hertfordshire’s recovery

Hertfordshire LEP, Hertfordshire County Council and the Department for Work and Pensions have published the Skills and Employment Strategy to 2024 to provide a roadmap out of the pandemic. The strategy is underpinned by three cross-cutting priorities including digital skills, low carbon/clean growth and inclusive growth.

Hitchin school wins £3k prize to spend on careers resources

The Priory School was named winner of a LEP competition to raise awareness of Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal (HOP), the premiere gateway to employment, apprenticeship and training opportunities within the county. The competition was launched in response to the Lord Lieutenant's report highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on young people.

Apprenticeships: back to basics

As part of our 'Hertfordshire Supports Apprenticeships' campaign, Hertfordshire LEP partnered with Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and West Herts College on a workshop (15 July) to support employers looking to start a new apprenticeship programme or improve on existing schemes. Watch the webinar recording.

Purple Beard launches new Digital Skills Bootcamps

Digital Skills Bootcamps are intensive programmes that help develop technical skills within a short period of time. Hertfordshire SMEs are invited to upskill or reskill their employees through 70% Government-funded bootcamps in Cloud Computing, DevOps, Data Analysis and Digital Leadership.

Places

Learn more about the A602 improvement scheme

A series of vital infrastructure improvements are being made along the A602 between Stevenage and Ware, part-funded by a £20m Local Growth Fund investment from the LEP, to improve the safety and reliability of the route. Watch the latest video to learn more about the interventions currently taking place between Watton-at-Stone and Tonwell.

Have your say on the New River Bridge

The New River Bridge, Hoddesdon, opened to road users in March 2021. Local residents and businesses are now invited to give their views on the effectiveness of the project. Supported by an £8.9m Local Growth Fund investment from the LEP, the scheme aimed to provide an improved, modern and resilient road link to Hoddesdon Business Park.

Events

International Youth Day Celebration 2021

Thursday 12 August 2021
St Albans Cathedral, 10:30am – 3pm

The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, Lionel C. Wallace DL, invites young people and their families to attend this free event where they can engage with local youth support organisations, including HOP.

Hertfordshire LEP is celebrating 10 years of driving economic growth and productivity across the county.

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