Team Lincolnshire took its place at the first Midlands Engine meeting at MIPIM yesterday (Tuesday) where city and county authorities and stakeholders from across the East and West Midlands spoke to an international audience about the region’s opportunities.
Greater Lincolnshire is one of the Midlands regions at the Palais des Festivals at the world’s largest property event in Cannes – ready for the launch of the UK Midlands Engine Pitchbook, which is being revealed to international developers and investors for the first time.
Team Lincolnshire is the public-private sector contingent led by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP to promote Greater Lincolnshire at MIPIM.
The Midlands Engine Pitchbook is critical to securing more international investment into the region, which will boost its increasingly strong economic performance and cement its position as one of the best business locations in the world.
Part of the Midlands Engine Pitchbook will be dedicated to Greater Lincolnshire investment and will showcase three opportunities; Lincolnshire Lakes, Scunthorpe, Grantham Town Regeneration Scheme/A1 Employment Land and Western Growth Corridor, Lincoln.
Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP said: “This is a very important step for the Midlands Engine to reach an international audience of inward investors and developers; and launching the pitchbook at MIPIM will enable investors to see all the opportunities in both the East and West Midlands.”
The Midlands Engine is unrivalled in the UK for its scale and diverse range of investment opportunities. It has the potential to generate £34 billion of productivity and growth by 2030.
Executive Councillor for Economic Development at Lincolnshire County Council and a board member at the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Colin Davie, added: “Our region is very much part of the Midlands Engine for Growth and it’s fantastic we have a number of sites included, showing Greater Lincolnshire is an excellent place to invest. The pitchbook is a fantastic tool for promoting the region and one the LEP very much supports.”
While at MIPIM the Greater Lincolnshire LEP is looking for development and financial partners for a number of sites equating to an impressive 700+ acres. Sites include three Food Enterprise Zones, the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park and housing development opportunities to deliver 100,000 new homes by 2031.
Last month the LEP welcomed the decision giving the go-ahead for work to finally start on Lincoln’s Eastern Bypass. The Secretary of State for Transport has granted the legal orders required for scheme to progress following a public inquiry and it is hoped that work will be able to start on site later this year.
With the ongoing improvements to the infrastructure of Greater Lincolnshire such as the forthcoming Lincoln East-West road link and proposed £29m transport hub as well as the recent £22m renovation of Lincoln Castle which houses the Magna Carta, Lincoln and Lincolnshire are at a crucial point at reaching huge potential in terms of attracting more investment into the area.
Speakers at the Midlands Engine event included Tony Danaher of UK Trade and Investment and Dr Colin Clinton of UKTI RIO and audiences heard of plans to create a dedicated Midlands pavilion at MIPIM in 2017. This will sit alongside the London pavilion, which combines stakeholders and authorities from across the capital.
Team Lincolnshire members include Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Pygott & Crone, Delta Simons, Gleeds, Simons Group, Morgan Tucker, Lindum Group, Willmott Dixon, Jackson & Jackson, William Saunders, Building Design Services, BSP, LK2, cpmg, Couch Perry Wilkes, Stirlin, Globe Consultants, Core Architects, Taylor Lindsey, Bond Bryan, Dynamic Lincoln and the University of Lincoln as a partner.
