Business Plan 2022-23
As in many organisations, our staff have now been
working from home for nearly two years and we
have continued to deliver business as usual while
taking on new projects to support local businesses.
We have also been awaiting further detail of the
Government’s review of LEPs and the outcomes of
the Levelling Up White Paper, both of which will
impact the role of the LEP in coming years.
However in spite of that, we have set a budget and
business plans for the coming year which continue
to build on our local partnerships to deliver impact
to help businesses grow and flourish.
The new Norfolk & Suffolk Economic Strategy was
launched in January and sets out our ambitions to
continue convening local partners across public,
private, education and VCSE sectors to collaborate
to tackle regional challenges and opportunities.
We are committed to helping secure funding for
our region, sharing knowledge and evidence and
promoting out region to Government and beyond.
Our ambitions as the UK’s clean growth region
continue to focus on creating a globally recognised,
technology-driven economy which is leading the
Foreword
Cover Images: Top – the new DigiTech Factory at City College Norwich. Middle – Ipswich-based Anglia Indoor Karting received
a Business Resilience and Recovery Scheme Grant. Bottom – steel signing marks progress on the Broadland Food Innovation Centre.
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transition to a zero carbon economy. We want
to play our part in making this one of the best
places in the world to live, work, learn and succeed
in business.
Pages 4 and 5 outline our strategic objectives for
the year and pages 6-10 highlight some of our
local projects.
Sitting alongside this high level delivery plan are
departmental business plans, which detail the
activities being undertaken to deliver on our
objectives. These are regularly reviewed and
updated.
Our Growth Deal and Capital Programme has now
concluded, and all funding has been defrayed to
existing projects and through LEP sub programmes.
We will continue to monitor these projects until
outputs are achieved. You can find out more about
these programmes on pages 11 and 12.
Chris Starkie
Chief Executive,
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership
March 2022
The national economic context of Covid recovery,
the ongoing implications of the UK’s exit from the EU,
labour and skills shortages and the outcomes of the
Government’s Levelling Up White Paper set a complex
backdrop for our business plans for 2022/23.
We have set five strategic objectives for the coming year. Pages 4 and 5
outline our plans under each of these headlines.
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LEP Strategic Objectives
1 Business support
and innovation
2 Labour market
and skills
3 Supporting
place
4 Nationally
significant
projects
5 Future role
of the LEP
Priority One:
Business support and
Innovation
We will enhance and enable a proactive
approach to business support where net zero,
innovation, skills and health and wellbeing are
incorporated.
We will lead on driving uptake of net zero and
innovation in businesses.
The LEP plays a critical role through our Growth
Hub and our business grant programmes in the
coordination and provision of business support.
The LEP also works through its sector groups and
programmes to strengthen local supply chains.
Our focus will be ensuring that businesses
affected by the pandemic continue to have
the support they need whilst increasing the
availability and visibility of support for high
growth firms as well increasing the number
of businesses investing in clean growth and
innovation/R&D.
Our Strategic Objectives
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Priority Two:
Labour market and skills
The number one issue facing businesses is
availability of labour. Our priority through the
Skills Advisory Panel and our industry councils
and sector groups will be to work with partners
to identify solutions to the short-term skills
shortages. At the same time we will continue
to work with colleagues on the planning and
implementation of longer-term skills provision to
meet the future needs of business.
We will continue to work with partners to clearly
understand the labour and technical skills
challenge and identify solutions to implement
that address the current shortage as well as the
future jobs growth in clean growth.
Peerless Plastics received a Business
Resilience and Recovery Scheme Grant.
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Priority Three:
Supporting place
We will take a strategic lead for our region,
building a compelling case which highlights
the places in need of levelling up and our
strategic opportunities. We will promote
the area to government, businesses and
people, building the case for investment and
attracting business and talent that share our
ambitions for clean growth.
Businesses operate in a place and our aim will
be to continue attracting investment through
our inward investment service and driving
forward our Enterprise Zone sites. At the same
time we will provide support and expertise to
local partners on the implementation of Town
Deals and bids to the Levelling Up fund as well
as other place based investment.
Priority Four:
Nationally significant
projects
We will work with partners to maximise the
economic benefits and business opportunities
presented by Freeport East, Sizewell C, offshore
wind developments and other investments
of scale. Our convening power enables us to
play a key role in connecting partners and
businesses with an overarching aim of ensuring
that local people and businesses get direct
benefits from these national scale projects.
Priority Five:
Future Role of the LEP
Following the publication of the Levelling Up
White Paper, the overarching internal priority
will be for the LEP to work with partners to
understand its implications and begin to plan
accordingly. This will include working with
the county councils on county deals and
securing funding for LEP services such as inward
investment, innovation and the Growth Hub.
Delivering growth
in 2022/23
The LEP operates a number of programmes delivering a range of
improvements and activities to support economic growth in the region.
These programmes all contribute to the delivery of the Economic Strategy.
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Business support
New Anglia Growth Hub
The Growth Hub provides free, fully funded, impartial support and advice
for businesses across Norfolk & Suffolk. It acts as a single gateway to enable
businesses and those thinking about starting one to access all the local and
national support that is on offer, including grants, information about net
zero and productivity. As well as supplying advice to individual businesses by
phone, online and in person, the Growth Hub also runs events throughout
the year on specialist areas of support from online selling and marketing to
recruitment and skills development.
To support businesses focused on growth in the
region and to encourage enterprise to thrive, it
operates Scale Up New Anglia – a programme of
intense support for companies and their owners who
want to accelerate the growth of their business. This
is delivered through tailored analysis of the business,
peer to peer networking, and expert coaching
sessions focusing on areas such as leadership and
management, sales, and finance.
As we emerge from the pandemic, the Growth Hub’s
focus will be ensuring that businesses affected by
the pandemic continue to have the support they
need, while increasing the availability and visibility of
support for high-growth firms. It will also be strongly
focused on increasing the number of businesses
investing in clean growth and innovation/R&D.
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Scale Up New Anglia
Our Scale Up Programme provides dedicated bespoke
support to businesses with high-growth potential,
including one-to-one meetings, workshops, seminars,
mentoring and funding. The Programme provides a
portal through which businesses can access a range
of local and national programmes such as Invest East,
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Programme and Innovate UK,
as well grant funding and access to finance.
Growth Through Innovation Fund
Our GTI Fund aims to accelerate levels of innovation,
research and development in SMEs. Funded by the
European Regional Development Fund, it has so far
awarded nearly £822,000 to 47 projects, generating
£997,000 private match funding. The fund is also
complemented by an Innovation Mentoring Scheme,
to assist businesses to access higher levels of funding
through Innovate UK.
Small Grant Scheme
Our Small Grant Scheme, funding by the European
Regional Development Fund, offers grants from
£1,000 to £25,000 to help businesses to grow. To
date, it has awarded nearly £4.4m to 446 projects,
generating nearly £18.5m of private match funding.
New Anglia Start-Up Programme
Delivered on behalf of the LEP by enterprise agencies
Nwes and Menta, our Start-Up Programme provides
face-to-face support and workshops to those seeking
to establish their own new enterprise.
During 2022/23 the Business Growth Programme
will deliver the following: 700 businesses receiving
diagnostic support and signposting to other services.
250 business receiving in-depth business support. 72
businesses receiving grants. £1.6m of private sector
funding invested into SMEs. 20 new jobs created.
Road to Net Zero is a pilot initiative, funded
by the UK Community Renewal Fund. It includes
a grant programme, a business challenge fund and
access to consultancy support. Evidence mapping
of sectoral opportunities in the net zero journey is
being undertaken by the University of East Anglia and
University of Suffolk and a series of events and online
toolkits will be produced to support SMEs.
Attracting investment
New Anglia Capital
This equity investment fund invests in pre-revenue
and early stage companies looking to grow and
create new jobs in the region. Delivered in
conjunction with regional angel investors, the
programme also supports the growth of the angel
network in Norfolk and Suffolk. New Anglia Capital
has seen two successful exits to date, from a total
investment portfolio of 21 companies. £4m equity
investment fund £3.1m invested into 21 projects.
Enterprise Zones (EZ)
New Anglia LEP hosts two Enterprise Zones (both
multi-site); the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft EZ
and Space to Innovate EZ. The two zones promote
development opportunities across 16 commercial
sites in Norfolk and Suffolk focused on key sectors
and New Anglia LEP continues to work in partnership
with county and district local authorities, landowners
and developers to attract investment and deliver
local growth, providing incentives where possible.
There is also an ambition to accelerate investment
in clean growth and the circular economy under
the new Economic Strategy. During 2021-22 major
investments and commercial developments have
been secured or completed for Norwich Research
Park, Suffolk Park (Bury St Edmunds), Eastern
Gateway (Sproughton) and Futura Park (Ipswich).
The LEP is in discussions with partners to progress
commercial development opportunities and
projects in a number of key EZ locations including
King’s Lynn, Great Yarmouth and Stowmarket.
Inward Investment
We will continue to promote Norfolk and
Suffolk on a global stage to attract and retain
inward investment, taking advantage of new
global trading opportunities.
Further work will be undertaken to ascertain
market demand and commercial opportunities
across more of our key sectors to create high
quality leads and attract inward investment,
especially in ICT and Digital Creative, Food
Processing and Manufacturing as a follow on to
our nutrition and healthy food work, Health and
medtech as well as exploring potential in the
space sector.
Promotional activity will focus on agri food,
primarily around healthy food and nutrition
as well as more established mainstream
processing and manufacturing, clean energy
and 5G and digitization. We will continue to
promote our key assets, especially Freeport East
integrated with a refreshed Norfolk & Suffolk
Unlimited campaign.
Work under way on the
new leisure facilities on
Great Yarmouth seafront.
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Strengthening clusters
Industry Councils
Industry councils representing our three high growth
strategic opportunities – agri-food, digital tech and all
energy – support the work of New Anglia LEP.
They bring together industry leaders, local businesses,
public sector and education partners to deliver strong
leadership to drive forward our world-leading potential
in these sectors. They help to highlight our region’s
sectors to Government and audiences across the UK
and globally.
The Norfolk & Suffolk All Energy Industry Council
will continue to support the major energy infrastructure
projects planned or under consideration, including
offshore wind developments and nuclear new build. The
Council will focus on developing skills capabilities and
enhancing supply chains as well as promoting our inward
investment offer under the new ‘Generate’ brand.
The Norfolk & Suffolk Agri-Food Industry Council
will build on recent activity to develop a stronger
‘regional narrative’ working with Cambridgeshire and
Lincolnshire to promote the investment and innovation
opportunities. The Council will continue to work with
partners to address the skills and staffing issues affecting
the sector as well as identifying opportunities to
strengthen supply chains.
The Norfolk & Suffolk Digital Tech Industry Council is
progressing plans to build the network of digital and
innovation hubs, unlocking our potential in digital
technologies. The Council will work with partners to
address the digital skills and labour market needs,
leveraging the opportunities presented via the new
university and college facilities across the region.
Find out more here Sub Boards
and Committees - New Anglia
Sector Groups
In addition to the Industry Councils, the LEP actively
supports and attends a number of business sector or
networking groups covering key sectors such as the visitor
economy, manufacturing, financial services, construction,
culture, creative industries, and the voluntary, community,
and social enterprise sector. Through this collaborative
approach, the LEP helps to explore cross-sector innovation
opportunities and drives business engagement with
academia to ensure skills needs are well understood across
sectors.
They bring together businesses, Government and education
partners to help identify, shape and drive forward the
sector priorities. There are also several emerging niche
sector opportunities, including space and marine science.
New Anglia Clean Growth Taskforce
The New Anglia Clean Growth Taskforce provides
strategic leadership for our focus, with partners, on the
transition to a zero carbon economy.
In 2022/23 the Clean Growth Taskforce will:
Develop a succinct key message and clear call to action
for businesses
Deliver a Local Leaders event
Develop a strategic, emissions-led approach to evidence
and impact
Work with large businesses/point source emitters to
establish best practise and peer-to-peer learning
Develop a deliverable, local evidence-based ambition
Deliver the Alternative Fuel Strategy for East Anglia
Oversee the delivery of the Road to Net Zero
Business Support Programme and any wider clean
growth programmes, looking at options for securing
further funding
Find out more here Clean Growth
Taskforce - New Anglia
Driving innovation
Connected Innovation
The Connected Innovation project, which is a
deliverable of the Innovation Board, is providing
strategic connectivity and collaboration between
regional innovation hubs, with a focus around cross
sector innovation, business support and addressing
key agendas such as clean growth across Suffolk
and Norfolk.
In addition to creating a peer network through
joining together the innovation centres, technology
parks and universities, it will also develop a single
online portal that enables them to engage with
organisations such as Innovate UK, the Knowledge
Transfer Network, and national Catapults. The project
also provides businesses with timely information on
funding competitions and other support programmes,
as well as networking events, aiming to accelerate the
development of new products and services.
New Anglia Innovation Board
The Innovation Board plays an important strategic
role in helping to shape the innovation agenda across
our priority sectors, as well as prioritising a focus on
clean growth.
It has an agreed set of high-level strategic objectives:
Norfolk and Suffolk are recognised as a centre
for pioneering ideas, meeting the challenges we
face globally;
Science and innovation are net contributors to the
Norfolk and Suffolk economy;
A highly skilled workforce equipped with the skills
necessary to access the techniques and business
practices needed for innovation;
Existing assets continue to strengthen and develop
into a pan-regional innovation ecosystem.
In 2022/23 the Innovation Board will progress plans and
activities to enhance cross-sector innovation and the
application of science and technology, leveraging our
assets across the regional network of innovation centres,
universities and research institutes. The Board will also
strengthen national and international relations through
building links with the Catapult network, Innovate UK
and Government departments to raise the profile of the
regional innovation opportunities and challenges.
Find out more here
New Anglia LEP Innovation Board - New Anglia
You can also read our Innovation Prospectus here
New-Anglia-LEP-Innovation-Prospectus-2020-V8-1.
pdf (newanglia.co.uk)
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Description Aug-22
Target
Matched Schools fully achieving Gatsby
Benchmark 5 75%
Matched Schools fully achieving Gatsby
Benchmark 6 65%
Average No of Benchmarks achieved 5
Strengthening the workforce
New Anglia Careers Hub comprises of
130 schools across Norfolk and Suffolk and has been
set up with the aim of supporting all schools in the Hub
with working towards fully achieving all eight Gatsby
Benchmarks. This is to be achieved through the support
of matched Enterprise Advisers, who are volunteers
from local businesses and the team of ten Enterprise
Coordinators. Enterprise Coordinators recruit, train and
match Enterprise Advisers to schools across the Region.
The Careers Hub also supports students with CPD
sessions, sharing of careers best practice and up to date
labour market information to support young people with
informed careers choices. Targets for delivery
are as follows:
Skills Advisory Panel
The Skills Advisory Panel brings together local
employers and skills providers to pool knowledge on
skills and labour market needs, and to work together
to understand and address key local challenges. This
includes both immediate needs and challenges and
looking at what is required to help local areas adapt
to future labour market changes and to grasp future
opportunities. This will help colleges, universities and
other providers deliver the skills required by employers,
now and in the future.
In 2022/23 the Skills Advisory Panel will focus on the
strategic objective of ‘Driving Skills Progression in the
Workforce’. Working with Norfolk and Suffolk County
Councils we will develop a Skills Hub that provides a
fully coordinated regional approach to strengthening the
development of the workforce across the Norfolk and
Suffolk economy.
Find out more here Skills
Advisory Panel - New Anglia
Communications
The LEP will continue to provide strategic
communications support for all of our business
support programmes and strategic projects.
There will be a focus on promoting our innovation
networks, our sector specialisms alongside the work
of the Inward Investment team and on delivering
stakeholder engagement activity to support the
changing and future role of the LEP.
Dynamic evidence base
We will continue to evolve and maintain a robust
shared local evidence base that underpins strategies,
directs the design of interventions, and supports
policy and investment decisions to help ensure
impact and value for money.
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Growth Deal
Our ambition is to transform the local economy into
a global centre for talent and innovation.
To achieve this, we have signed a multi-million pound
Growth Deal with Government to boost the region’s skills,
drive innovation, target support to help small businesses to
grow and improve transport and infrastructure.
Growth Deal Capital Projects Underway 2022-2023
Project Type (Productivity) Project Name Project Cost Total LGF
Allocation
Infrastructure NATS - City Centre Package £10,115,000 £7,765,000
Infrastructure Ely Area Rail Enhancement Scheme £9,646,000 £3,300,000
Ideas & Innovation Snetterton Employment Area £4,249,706 £2,650,000
Ideas & Innovation Norfolk & Suffolk Innovation Network £735,000 £440,000
Enterprise Development at Nar Ouse Enterprise Zone £6,440,000 £3,220,000
People & Skills UoS DigiTech Centre £7,970,000 £6,497,000
Place Lowestoft Flood Risk Management £67,122,695 £10,000,000
Place Snape Maltings Flood Defences £500,000 £125,000
Place Great Yarmouth Flood Defences £41,412,334 £8,200,000
Totals: £148,190,735 £42,197,000
Growth Deal Progress Toward Forecast Outputs
Output Category Forecast to
2025
Actuals to date % of 2025
forecast met
Forecast for
2022/23
Jobs Created 3,394 3,322 98% 120
Apprentices 87 92 106% 0
New Commercial Floorspace 40,697 40,438 99% 2,716
New Homes 1,195 872 73% 121
Resurfaced Road (km) 4.40 5.30 120% 0
New Road (km) 27.5 27.5 100% 0.00
New Cycleway (km) 14.3 14.5 101% 0
Learners Assisted 6,563 3,503 53% 1238
Learning Space 32,330 30,268 94% 2,062
Public & Provate Investment (£M) £811,505,809 £792,616,962 98% £62,450,350.0
Area of reduced Flood Risk (ha) 1,835,000 0 0% 0
Homes with Reduced Flood Risk 440 485 110% 0
Commercial Property with Reduced Risk 546 4 1% 0
New Anglia LEP was awarded £290m by Government
from the Local Growth Fund to deliver the Growth Deal.
The Growth Deal has effectively ended and there is no
further Local Growth Fund allocation for the coming year.
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Getting Building Fund Capital Projects Underway 2022-2023
Category Project Name Anticipated
Project Cost
Total GtgBF
Award
Regeneration Burtons Creative Hub £6,500,000 £3,000,000
Cultural Sector Great Yarmouth Strategic Seafront Regeneration £26,000,000 £2,500,000
Regeneration Cornhill Redevelopment, Bury St Edmunds £9,800,000 £2,750,000
Clean Energy/Resource Efficiency GY Operations & Maintenance Campus £18,000,000 £6,000,000
Regeneration North Walsham Town Centre Revitalisation £1,600,000 £1,170,000
Clean Energy/Resource Efficiency Micro- Generation & Storage of Electricity £1,600,000 £800,000
Digital Infrastructure Suffolk Broadband £16,225,000 £2,500,000
Digital Infrastructure Local Full Fibre Network, Norfolk £2,056,320 £2,056,320
Health and Wellbeing Integrated Care System Academy, Ipswich £13,000,000 £4,000,000
Innovation Broadland Food Innovation Centre £11,580,000 £2,700,000
Totals: £106,361,320 £27,476,320
Getting Building Fund Progress Toward Forecast Outputs
Output Category Forecast to
2024/25
Actuals to date % of 2025
forecast met
Forecast for
2022/23
Jobs Created (Incl. Apprentices) 545.0 5.0 1% 289.0
Additional Construction Jobs 85.0 15.5 18% 70.0
Safeguarded Jobs 1,070.0 1,093.6 102% 0.0
New Homes 24 0 0% 24
New Commercial Floorspace 16,576 0 0% 11,586
New R&D Floorspace 601 370 62% 231
Institutions Assisted 408 74 18% 46
Super/Ultrafast Broadband connections 5,264 2,045 39% 3,819
Learning Space 4,500 0 0% 4,500
Learners Assisted 385 0 0% 125
Public Realm or Green Space 6,154 0 0% 6,154
CO2 Avoided 280,900 0 0% 84,900
Public investment (£M) £75,522,930 £28,055,896 37% £30,362,233
Private investment (£M) £13,180,516 £10,087,332 77% £4,312,520
Getting Building Fund
New Anglia LEP was allocated £32.1m from the Getting Building Fund at
the beginning of August 2020 for a wide-ranging package of projects that
will support the local economy.
In Norfolk and Suffolk, the funded projects are expected to
deliver benefits throughout the two counties, focussing on key
sectors including tourism, food production, health and social
care, and energy. The funding will enable a number of local
market towns to become more resilient. Direct support has
been given to businesses through the Business Resilience and
Recovery Scheme. There is more emphasis on green recovery
and cleaner, sustainable growth, with the indicative outputs
including green space, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas
emission savings.
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LEP Forecast Outputs
2022/23
The delivery of the Economic Strategy and the achievement of its targets requires the collective endeavours of the private and
public sectors. We have set the following objectives for 2022/23 which will help achieve the overall targets by 2036. The 2021/22
figures are subject to final audit.
JOBS CREATED/
SAFEGUARDED
Actual 2021/22 1,550
Target 2022/23
1,546
NEW BUSINESSES
Actual 2021/22 337
Target 2022/23
418
NEW HOMES
Actual 2021/22
120
Target 2022/23
130
PRIVATE SECTOR MATCH
FUNDING
Actual 2021/22
£154,653,785
Target 2022/23
£171,893,664
* Does not include full year data for Enterprise Zones due to time lag in reporting in this area.
* 2022/23 also includes target data for new schemes – Community Renewal Fund and C-Care.
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Our Board
New Anglia LEP’s board is business-led. It is comprised of highly committed
leaders from the private sector, public sector and education. View details of
our board members online at newanglia.co.uk/our-board.
Its role is to guide and advise the executive team to ensure
a sharp focus on activities to help grow jobs and remove
the barriers to growth for business. The board is required to
approve the LEP’s significant and strategic decisions, including
its annual budget, business plans and the Economic Strategy.
It also retains overall responsibility for risk and performance.
Our board members give their time voluntarily to support the
LEP. Dates for board meetings, agendas, papers and registers
of interests for all board members are available at newanglia.
co.uk/our-board
More information about how the LEP operates, and
its processes and procedures can be found in its Local
Assurance Framework. https://newanglia.co.uk/governance-
decision-making-and-faqs/ This covers how our board is
formed and governed, how our decisions are made and
how our programmes are funded and managed. It also
provides the Government with assurance that the LEP is
operating correctly.
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For more information, please visit newanglia.co.uk
Call 01603 510070
Twitter @NewAngliaLEP
LinkedIn New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership
Figures are correct on 04 March 2022
