Press & Blog

May 25, 2023 | press blog news

Lack of grid capacity undermines UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy and the development of a UK battery supply chain

The UK’s ability to develop its own critical minerals supply chains to safeguard the future of British industries risks being undermined by a lack of capacity in the electricity grid. Ministers are being warned that grid constraints in minerals-rich areas like Cornwall will hold back the development of strategic national resources vital to a raft of British industries, from car making to defence.

May 17, 2023 | press blog news

Statement: Mark Duddridge

It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Mark Duddridge, Chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

April 21, 2023 | news

Bring floating wind power electricity ashore in Cornwall, urge industry leaders

Industry leaders in Cornwall say plans to build floating windfarms off the coast could unlock a green growth revolution and thousands of jobs – if power is landed directly in Cornwall.Later this summer The Crown Estate, which manages the seabed around the UK, will invite energy companies to bid for leases to build floating windfarms in the Celtic Sea.

March 13, 2023 | blog

Employment and Skills Board Chair Blog

The latest Employment and Skills Board (ESB) meeting highlighted some fantastic work that is happening across the sectors in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as well as highlighting recruitment issues and questions around future funding.

January 16, 2023 | press

Ambitious vision for Great South West launched

The ambitions for the Great South West, the new economic powerhouse promoting the Cornwall, Isles of Scilly, Devon, Somerset and Dorset region, have been announced at a Parliamentary Reception at the House of Lords.

January 3, 2023 | blog news

December Chair’s blog

The devolution deal just signed between Cornwall Council and the Government has fired the starting gun on Cornwall having a directly elected mayor by 2024.

January 3, 2023 | press news

Cornish company at heart of world’s first slurry-powered tractor

A Cornish company pioneering the capture, storage and use of methane gas sourced from farm slurry has seen its groundbreaking technology incorporated into the world’s first liquid methane-powered tractor.

September 30, 2022 | blog

September Chair’s Blog

By the time you read this it may already be out of date. There’s such a surfeit of news it’s difficult to keep up, but I’ll try my best. So where are we as I write? High inflation, falling demand, energy crisis, higher borrowing costs, rollercoaster markets, plunging pound, bond buy-backs, a rebuke from the IMF, mortgage products pulled, Covid loans falling due. It’s difficult not to be gloomy.

September 30, 2022 | blog

Clare Parnell on the Future Farm Resilience Programme

There was good news for farmers over the summer with an announcement from Defra that is it making £2.6m available in the region to help them adapt to changes in the agricultural landscape due to Brexit, climate change and changing land use needs.

September 30, 2022 | news

Hall for Cornwall opens new public and enterprise spaces

Hall for Cornwall is celebrating the official opening of new spaces in its transformed building. The ‘Ope’ connects two popular Truro shopping streets via a walkway to the rear of the Cornwall Playhouse giving visitors a rare behind-the-scenes look at a working theatre. And elsewhere within Truro’s creative hub, new workspaces have been unveiled to support emerging artists and the creative industries through Hall for Cornwall’s Husa brand.

June 28, 2022 | blog

August Chair’s blog

The Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) is a cornerstone of the Government’s ‘Levelling-Up’ agenda. The idea of levelling up is that people in all parts of the UK should have the same opportunities, regardless of where they live. The SPF is designed to replace EU funding that we could have expected to receive had we not Brexited in 2020. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly have been allocated £132m over three years. This is the highest allocation outside of Greater London and reflects the needs of our economy.

August 1, 2022 | press news

Vital role for Cornwall in Government’s new Critical Minerals Strategy

Cornwall’s vital role in supplying minerals like lithium and tin to the UK’s economy has been highlighted in the Government’s first ever Critical Minerals Strategy. Published by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, it sets out how critical minerals will become increasingly important to bolstering energy security and UK industry.

June 9, 2022 | blog

June Chair’s blog

Last week Vancouver-based Cornish Metals released its quarterly trading update confirming it had raised £40.5m towards reopening South Crofty tin mine and completed more than 10,000 metres of test drilling at United Downs. A day later Cornish Lithium announced its institutional shareholder TechMet was investing a further £9m (on top of £9m already invested) following the results of a hard rock study at Trelavour near St Dennis.

June 28, 2022 | press news

LEP investment backs Spaceport Cornwall for launch

A £2m investment from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is paving the way for the first satellite launch from UK soil later this year. The LEP is supporting the construction of new facilities at Spaceport Cornwall at Newquay, where five satellite payloads are already confirmed for commercial launch with Virgin Orbit this September.

June 28, 2022 | blog

Supporting a rural economy transition

A few weeks ago saw the publication of a hard-hitting report, part-funded by the LEP, about the potential loss to the South West rural economy of £883m by 2027 due to changes in farm policy. The move away from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been driven by Brexit, resulting in the biggest shake-up in farm subsidies for over 50 years.

May 9, 2022 | news

Report predicts ‘economic shock’ for South West rural economy from changes to farming payment scheme

New research published today (9th May) identifies £883 million is predicted to be lost from the rural economy up to 2027 across Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset and Somerset.

April 7, 2022 | blog

April Chair’s Blog

I believe the voice of business is vital to any devolution agenda, and it’s something that the Government has recognised. It has outlined how it wants to embed a strong, independent and diverse local business voice into local democratic institutions, says LEP Chair, Mark Duddridge.

April 7, 2022 | press

Davidstow creamery development on course for completion

A multi-million pound dairy development project in North Cornwall is on course to be completed following a £3.17m investment from the LEP. The LEP’s grant from the Government’s Getting Building Fund is supporting the multi- million pound development of the world-class Saputo Dairy UK creamery in Davidstow.

April 7, 2022 | news

LEP backs maximum devolution deal for Cornwall

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership is backing plans for Cornwall to achieve the most ambitious County Deal possible in negotiations with Government. Cornwall is among a first wave of areas that have been invited to bid for County Deal status and the LEP has endorsed Cornwall Council’s plan to bid for a ‘Tier 3’ deal

March 25, 2022 | news

Cornwall and Scilly top annual ‘Good Growth’ Index

Cornwall’s green growth agenda and commitment to a low carbon economy have helped push it to the top of this year’s ‘Good Growth Index’ of English regions.

March 19, 2022 | press news

Cornwall’s cultural ambitions undimmed by bid announcement

Cornwall’s cultural ambitions remain undimmed despite today’s [19th March] announcement that it has not made the final round of the City of Culture 2025 competition. The Government has confirmed that Cornwall is not among the final four regions going forward to bid for the title, having made it onto a longlist of eight areas from an original list of 20 last year.

March 11, 2022 | news

New targets could help public sector use more local food, according to new report

The public sector can strengthen local supply chains and help local producers access them by being set targets and annually reporting where food, served in staff canteens for example, comes from. This would strengthen local supply chains and help local producers to access them.

February 22, 2022 | press news

South West bids to be at forefront of sustainable UK battery production

Cornwall’s emerging technology metals industry is gearing up to provide critical supplies of lithium to a planned battery gigafactory in Somerset, in a move that would put the South West of England at the forefront of sustainable battery production in the UK.

February 22, 2022 | press news

Cornwall submits bid for City of Culture 2025

Cornwall has submitted its ambitious bid to become the first rural area to win UK City of Culture 2025, saying it would be a huge boost for a region that urgently needs investment to close the gap with the rest of the UK.

February 22, 2022 | blog

February Chair’s blog

City of Culture status would be an affirmation of everything that makes Cornwall special – and a vital part of levelling up our economy, says Mark Duddridge.

December 16, 2021 | press

Headforwards named as first City of Culture sponsor

Cornish tech company Headforwards has been named as the first business sponsor of Cornwall’s bid to become City of Culture 2025. The fast-growing software company, which has recently moved to its new FibreHub offices in Pool and employs 100 staff, will support a planned event in Westminster in January aimed at highlighting Cornwall’s bid to Government, officials and the creative sector.

December 8, 2021 | blog

December Chair’s blog

So it’s official – we’re going to have to wait a little longer to find out how the Government intends to tackle regional inequalities across the UK. It was confirmed this week that the Levelling Up White Paper, which had been anticipated before the end of the year, will now be published in 2022.

December 3, 2021 | press news

STEM and Health Skills Centre on course for spring opening

A £6.3m STEM and Health Skills Centre in Bodmin that aims to transform the teaching of industry-relevant skills in Cornwall is on course to open in spring next year. The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and Health Skills Centre for North and East Cornwall is being built by Truro and Penwith College with support from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which is meeting £3.78m of the costs through the Government’s Getting Building Fund (GBF).

November 30, 2021 | press news

LEP appoints four new private sector directors

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has appointed four new directors to bring specialist knowledge to its Board.The new directors are being co-opted for a fixed-term of one year and have expertise in research and innovation, project development and funding, the visitor economy and sustainability, and small business.

November 29, 2021 | press news

South West MPs back Cornwall for City of Culture

A cross-party group of South West MPs is backing Cornwall’s bid to be City of Culture 2025, and are writing to Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries to record their support. The Great South West All Party Parliamentary Group, which is jointly chaired by South West Devon MP Sir Gary Streeter and Exeter Labour MP and former Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw, endorsed the bid at their November meeting.