Press & Blog

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.

November 12, 2021 | news

Huge step forward for floating wind power with 4GW plan for Celtic Sea

Ambitions to create thousands of green energy jobs in Cornwall and the South West by developing a floating wind industry have taken a huge step forward with confirmation from The Crown Estate that it is looking to unlock 4GW of energy from the Celtic Sea by 2035. That would be enough electricity for four million homes, making a major contribution to the UK’s net zero target.

November 8, 2021 | news

LEP sets out low carbon opportunity for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

As talks continue at the COP26 Climate Change Conference, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has set out how Cornwall can support national and global ambitions in the transition to a low carbon economy. A new prospectus and summary film, ‘How Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is leading the green industrial revolution’, sets out how decarbonising the economy is both an environmental imperative and huge opportunity for the region.

November 8, 2021 | blog

November Chair’s blog

Decarbonising our economy is both an environmental imperative and a huge opportunity for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The move away from fossil fuels requires massive investment in new global industries, from floating offshore wind to electric vehicles and battery storage. Investment will lead to the creation of hundreds of thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs in the UK, benefitting the economy.

October 8, 2021 | press news

Cornwall longlisted for City of Culture 2025

Cornwall’s bid to be the UK’s City of Culture 2025 has moved a step closer after being longlisted with seven other parts of the UK for the prestigious title.

September 24, 2021 | press blog news

Cornish MPs back City of Culture 2025 bid

Cornwall’s six Members of Parliament are backing Cornwall’s bid to be the UK’s City of Culture 2025.
Cornwall is among 20 bids from across the UK vying to win the prestigious four-yearly title and be at the centre of the UK’s cultural spotlight in 2025.

September 30, 2021 | blog

September Chair’s blog

We’re going to be hearing a lot more about the Government’s ‘levelling up’ plans in the coming months, at least if the recent appointment of Michael Gove as the newly-named Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary is anything to go by. The move of the Cabinet’s ‘Mr Fixit’ into this role is I think recognition from Number 10 that ‘levelling up’ urgently needs a champion and a coherent plan if it is to evolve from being a catchy slogan into the catalyst for investment, job creation and social change that it can and should be.

August 12, 2021 | blog

Glenn Caplin-Grey on why Cornwall’s creativity and carbon-neutral ambitions are a winning combination

It is here, in the merging of our cultural and creative industries with our environmental and sustainability approach that I believe Cornwall has a unique opportunity to write a new chapter for our region and its future. This is why we decided to launch Cornwall’s bid for the UK City of Culture 2025, and expect to discover next month whether we have made the shortlist.

July 14, 2021 | blog

Clare Parnell on sustainable tourism

With five million visitors a year to Cornwall it’s not surprising that this can lead to pressure on infrastructure, tensions with local communities and impacts on our environment.
Managing those visitor numbers in a sustainable way is becoming increasingly important because it is the quality of the natural environment that underpins the visitor economy.

July 14, 2021 | blog

July Chair’s blog

As the country prepares for the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions from next Monday the long-term impact of the pandemic on the local jobs market is far from certain.
The furlough scheme, introduced 15 months ago, is starting to unwind and is due to end on 30 September. At its peak in May last year it was paying the wages of 8.9 million workers. Since then it’s shrunk to around 1.5 million but we’ve no idea how many of those jobs will still exist over the next few months.

July 13, 2021 | news

New Aviation Centre at Cornwall Airport Newquay

Construction for a new £2m Aviation Centre at Cornwall Newquay Airport has started this month. The Aviation Centre will be the start of a new era for property development at the Airport and provide horizontal launch service operations for Spaceport Cornwall.