Eastern Powerhouse to be launched to boost investment in region

The business-led organisation hopes to emulate the success of the North and Midlands in attracting investment and government attention through the Levelling Up agenda.

It aims to highlight the merits of investing in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Greater Peterborough, Lincolnshire, and North Essex and to present a unified voice to push for investment.

More than 100 business and civic leaders, plus more than 20 political supporters will join the launch of the initiative at Westminster next Tuesday (March 15).

Lotus has backed the Eastern Powerhouse set-up. (Image: Archant)

Organisations such as Lotus, Adnams and the Hill Group are backing the creation of the powerhouse, which will be governed by an advisory board made up of members from the public and private sector, as well as MPs.

It is being chaired by James Palmer, former mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, who said it was a chance for the East to make the case to fulfill its full potential.

He said: "We have a region of more than six million people, with some of the finest universities in the world and we are the fourth biggest provider into the economy in the country.

"The devolved nations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have smaller populations than the region of the East.

"And you have the Northern Powerhouse which has had a massive effect there, as has the Midlands Engine.

"Yet, the East has always struggled to put forward a unified voice, but we are greater than the sum of our parts."

Mr Palmer said the Eastern Powerhouse would make the case for investment in the region - to drive economic growth, improve transport and infrastructure, raise skills and attract businesses.

He said: "In the last budget, the north was mentioned 18 times and the East was not mentioned at all."

The new Norwich Institute for Sustainable Development will be based at Norwich Research Park

Mr Palmer said: "We know we are leaders in innovation, technology, renewables, life sciences, agriculture and agri-tech.

"It's not just about saying to government that we want money, it's about saying to industry that we are a place worth investing in."

Mr Palmer said a united voice and a spatial vision for the region were urgently needed to get that message across.

Does Norfolk need a mayor?

The government has invited Norfolk County Council to seek what is known as a county deal - which would see some powers devolved to Norfolk.

The debate is ongoing over whether that would entail an elected mayor for the county - although the government has made clear that the best financial package will be made available to those areas which do decide to go for a mayor.

So would the Eastern Powerhouse's case be boosted if Norfolk did have a mayor?

Mr Palmer said that was a matter for elected members and stressed the Eastern Powerhouse would not be setting policy.

He said: "It's not our job to set policy. We are very much a business-led coalition of people saying the East is a great place for new businesses and a great place to live."

Analysis

The Eastern Powerhouse is a concept which has been bandied about for many years, in one form or another.

Eastern eyes have long looked enviously at the money - and powers - headed to areas such as the North and the Midlands.

It's very difficult to separate the success of those areas in getting government cash from those 'powerhouse' models and the elected mayors in those places.

The Eastern Powerhouse - and its chairman, James Palmer, a former elected mayor - does attempt to make that differentiation.

He says it will be business-led, making the case for investment in the region, bringing a united voice for a region stretching from Lincolnshire to Essex, via Norfolk and Suffolk.

That's a big area and one which does not always identify as a single entity - as shown by the refusal of some councils in Norfolk to accept the idea of a Norfolk and Suffolk mayor in 2016.

But the East is a huge area, with huge potential. And we have, historically, missed out, so this could be the right time to make the case that we have so much to offer - and benefit from.