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GFirst LEP's Annual Review attracts hundreds of business leaders
Building On Success was the theme for GFirst LEP's Annual Review last week; and the Local Enterprise Partnership for Gloucestershire has certainly proved worthy recipients of the government awarded funds.
21 September 2016
Chair, Diane Savory OBE, and Chief Executive, David Owen, kicked off proceedings with a summary of how £77.5 million has started to be spent in the county over the past 12 months, with over 300 business leaders listening.
View the videos from the Annual Review:
Reporting on the end of year one delivery of Growth Deal funding, an impressive array of projects were discussed; from a new bus station in Gloucester, to helping retailers engage with digital technologies.
Joining Diane and David on stage were the LEP Board of Directors and a host of guest speakers. In addition, Vision 2050 was unveiled to business leaders - a new campaign to encourage business people to put forward their ideas for the county’s future.
David Owen said: " This year has seen uncertainty for businesses, with the EU referendum and a government change, but the most important thing for Gloucestershire is that we move forward, working hard together to grow our economy and provide opportunity for all. The great strength we have, in unclear times globally, is the great partnerships we have across the county’s business, public and third sectors. We’re proud to be a part of Gloucestershire’s business community.”
Diane Savory said: "Our aspirations for the county keep on growing. Growth Deal 3 funding would take us through to 2020 and our ambitions don’t stop there. We’ll continue to work hard with our business, education, local authority, NHS and Police colleagues to get the best possible devolution deal for Gloucestershire.
Now, more than ever in our experience, the county is working as one to develop ambitious plans that are not about the next 3 or 5 years or what the future holds for us in this room. These plans, and the ambition demonstrated across the wider Gloucestershire partnership are about what kind of county we want for our children and our grandchildren.”
What is Vision 2050? Diane Savory explains:
“Vision 2050 is hugely important to Gloucestershire – it will enable us to think about the big picture.
Gloucestershire needs a long term plan. Looking ahead to 2050, we need to start thinking about the projects that will need time to form and develop. We need to consider environmental factors, the advancement of technology, transport assumptions and a host of other factors for us to be able to confidently ensure that our county will continue to grow.
The challenges of the last 12 months have made us realise that we need to be much more ambitious, and visionary, in our future thinking. I’d encourage our business community to email vision2050@gfirstlep.com with your ideas, and help the transformational change of Gloucestershire’s economy.”
