OUT FOR THE COUNTY

摘要

A comer of England steeped in motorsport is turning its attentions to the broader challenges of business and, as Gareth Price discovers, there is help at hand. Last month the government announced it will accept much of Lord Heseltine's plan to stimulate the economy within England. The former deputy prime minister's report recommended devolving power to the regions and setting up a single local growth fund to deal with skills, housing and transport. His report No Stone Unturned advocated using England's network of 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to decide the allocation of central funding to projects. In England, LEPs have been in operation since 2011, operating as a voluntary partnership between local authorities and businesses. Established by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to look for economic growth and job creation within a given area, the LEPs carry out some of the functions previously carried out by the former regional development agencies. Based squarely in England's automotive heartland, Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership (NEP) is one such LEP that has brought together a cluster of world-class expertise in high performance engineering and motorsports.