A decade of delivery

Hertfordshire LEP officially forms in April following a call from the then Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne to create Local Enterprise Partnerships “that empower local leadership, generate local economic growth, and promote job creation in all parts of the country”. In December, Johnson Matthey’s Site Planning and Services Director John Gourd is appointed Chair.

LEPs’ first collective seminal moment comes in 2012 with the publication of 'No Stone Unturned' by former Conservative Deputy PM Michael Heseltine, setting out a vision to unleash the potential of local economies by ‘devolving funding from central government to Local Enterprise Partnerships’. Hertfordshire LEP will spend the next two years developing its own highly regarded blueprint for economic growth.

In March, we publish our first Strategic Economic Plan (SEP). Its vision is simple: that Hertfordshire should perform to its full potential. Its guiding strategy is to grow smartly as a perfect place for business, and to become one of the UK's leading economies by 2030, helping to realise the full economic potential of the assets and opportunities within the Golden Triangle.

Thanks to the strength of the SEP, Hertfordshire LEP goes on to negotiate three significant Growth Deals totalling £221.5m to support a raft of projects, and secure £60m EU funding for business support and skills projects. 

Hertfordshire’s new destination management service Visit Herts officially launches in September. The service is responsible for driving visitors to the county through marketing campaigns, increased digital presence and partner liaison, which has resulted in a visitor economy now worth £2.1 billion, supporting 38,000 jobs and welcoming 25 million visitors a year.

Hertfordshire LEP's flagship business support service, Hertfordshire Growth Hub, officially launches. It is part of a network of 38 LEP-led Growth Hubs across England that integrate national and local business support. Again, our vision is simple: to be the best Growth Hub in the country, creating a thriving business community and a more prosperous local economy. 

Mark Bretton joins the LEP Board in January, taking over as Chair from John Gourd in June. In September 2019, Mark goes on to become Chair of the LEP Network, giving Hertfordshire a platform on the national stage. 

Hertfordshire LEP publishes its first Annual Report and approval is secured for its first Enviro-Tech Enterprise Zone, later named Hertfordshire Innovation Quarter. After a successful bid, The Careers and Enterprise Company programme is set up locally to help foster greater links between schools and employers.

Hatfield Train Station re-opens this year with new station buildings, a multi-storey car park and improved access for pedestrians and cyclists, part funded by Hertfordshire LEP. This marks the start of a raft of measures to improve our towns which will later include Stevenage, Watford, South Oxhey, Waltham Cross, Bishop's Stortford, Hemel Hempstead, and Hertford.

2017 is a hugely exciting time for Hertfordshire LEP as we translate our ambition to accelerate business-led growth into reality. North to south, east to west, there are now real, tangible signs where LEP intervention is making an impact. Construction begins on Hertfordshire Innovation Quarter, which spans 107 hectares and has the potential to attract 800 new firms and deliver 8,000 jobs. 

In January, European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake officially opens the STEM Discovery Centre, funded by Airbus and Hertfordshire LEP and run by North Herts College, with the aim of inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.  

In October, BRE hosts our Building Solutions Conference which pulls in industry experts across the housing sector to tackle one of the most pressing problems facing Hertfordshire: how can we deliver the homes needed in the next 15 years? This would later lead to a consortium of housing providers, supported by the LEP, committing to scaling up its use of offsite manufacturing to accelerate the delivery of sustainable homes. 

We secure EU funding for an expanding portfolio of business support services to help SMEs grow and innovate, enhance their competitiveness and become more eco-friendly. In July, the revised Strategic Economic Plan is published to take into account the wider trends and drivers that will influence economic life, both inside the county and more generally up to 2030. 

In June, Mark Bretton attends the first meeting of the Prime Minister's Council of LEP Chairs with former PM Theresa May, who said LEPs 'must continue to play a crucial role in our plans to deliver further growth in local economies.' Talks focused on where LEPs carry maximum impact: delivering the objectives of the Modern Industrial Strategy in their local areas, and investing in the skills that people and businesses need.

In November, the Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal (HOP) launches. This will become a one-stop shop for local skills, training, employment and apprenticeship information. Students, employers and residents are now able to ‘HOP into’ all the resources they need to make informed career decisions, upskill or build a future talent pipeline.

At Hertfordshire LEP's Annual Conference, Business and Industry Minister Nadhim Zahawi announces Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst as one of six new Life Sciences Opportunity Zones in the UK. This trajectory can be traced back to Hertfordshire LEP’s growth strategy, Perfectly Placed for Business. The designation cements Hertfordshire’s reputation for growing a cell and gene therapy cluster of global significance.

After a successful funding bid and with strong local support from schools, the Hertfordshire Careers Hub is set up to bring together schools and colleges with employers, universities, training providers and career professionals, to improve prospects for young people. 

Hertfordshire LEP's key focus this year is to develop a Local Industrial Strategy which brings together a strong, well-informed evidence base about our area’s economy, and outlines a long-term set of priorities that capitalises on existing opportunities and addresses weaknesses. It also lays the foundations for our Economic Recovery Plan in response to one of the most tumultuous years for our people, places and businesses.

COVID-19 brings huge economic upheaval to Hertfordshire. Many businesses and town centres face significant financial pressure, with the visitor economy one of the worst affected. For the first time in a generation, Hertfordshire is likely to have a real unemployment problem, with young people bearing the brunt. Hertfordshire LEP's Economic Recovery Plan was developed in response, and will be revised again in spring/summer 2021.

Hertfordshire LEP responds rapidly to the crisis, with enhanced Growth Hub services, targeted skills programmes, and a £3.28m COVID-19 business support package, and continues to play an active role in the Local Resilience Forum, leading on Hertfordshire’s collective effort. This ability to be agile and responsive to our communities will serve us well as we look forward to the future.