Coun Blake Pain, lead member for environment & transport at Leicestershire County Council, writes about what they are doing to back local business:
"The East Midlands is the fastest growing economy outside of London and the South East.
Future growth in population and the local economy must be planned for – it is estimated that more than £600 million will be needed to provide the infrastructure needed to support 187,000 new homes and a population growth of 107,000 between now and 2050 – and this is just in Leicester and Leicestershire.
Given this background, it is vital to plan ahead. This is one thing Leicestershire County Council does really well.
Locally, we have worked with our eight neighbouring authorities and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership to agree a Strategic Growth Plan to co-ordinate planning for housing, to identify land for employment use and bidding for funding to support transport infrastructure.
This joined-up approach avoids a planning “free for all” and protects communities from unwanted or inappropriate development.
For too long, planning for housing and transport infrastructure has been on an ad-hoc basis, putting particular pressures on the existing transport network to accommodate or just cope with this growth.
A good example of this is the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR) where we were successful with a total funding bid of £63 million to deliver the North and Eastern sections of the road and working with the local planning authority to plan for 4,500 houses.
This will have a major impact on the quality of life for Melton residents and local business – cutting congestion and improving air quality, whilst providing much needed housing for people to raise a family, go to school or run their business.
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One guiding principle we follow in Leicestershire is that we’re always open for business.
For this reason, we have not entertained a working place parking levy, a congestion charge or other similar local tax that other local authorities either have or are planning to introduce.
There are other, more proactive ways that the county council can play its part in supporting businesses and the local economy – our net annual spend on local procurement is over £170 million.
This spending power is also supported with the council investing its assets wisely.
Over £200 million has been invested via our Corporate Asset Investment Board, with any income going to support services and investment in the transport network.
We also work with our neighbouring authorities regionally on larger projects through our membership of the Midlands Connect Transport Strategy and the Midlands Engine for Growth partnership.
The East Midlands is the only region not to have received any form of devolution deal from Government.
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This means we are seriously disadvantaged when bidding for funding to support our growth bids.
It also means that we do not speak with one strategic voice to Government – but this is changing as we are becoming more and more successful in winning funding to support our growth plans.
We are working with Midlands Connect and Highways England to secure upgrades to the M1, A5, A42 and A46, routes especially important to Leicestershire’s freight and logistics businesses.
The county is at the heart of the ‘Logistics Golden Triangle’.
We also host the Midlands Rail Hub and our Rail Strategy prioritises faster journeys to London and Birmingham, with new direct services, including to Coventry, Thames Valley and Manchester and we are working with Midlands Connect and Network Rail to secure delivery.
Right at the heart of all this is to ensure that we have an effective transport system that is essential for connectivity and for the movement of materials, goods and people.
Congestion and poor transport connections cost businesses money and impacts on their productivity.
Right now, we’re working on the county’s largest ever investment in capital transport – some £160 million in schemes like the MMDR, improvements at M1 J23 and A512, junction improvements in Hinckley Zone 4 and A46 / A5630 Anstey Lane – all designed to reduce congestion on the network and support connectivity.
Finally, we also help make our communities safer and more desirable to live and work in, through our speed camera and parking enforcement outside schools initiatives.
A strong economy with vibrant businesses is vital to Leicestershire’s and the 海角视频’s successful future.
As the local highway authority for Leicestershire, the county council remains fully committed to playing a proactive part in achieving this."