Civil Engineers from across East Sussex are being given the opportunity to meet the Director of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), Dr Susan Priest, at a special Breakfast Briefing being organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South East England and East of England Regions.
Director of ICE South East England, John Laverty, said: “Local Enterprise Partnerships were set up to bring together public and private sectors to strategically plan and deliver economic growth in their area and a key component is making sure the right infrastructure is in place to facilitate that growth.
“SELEP covers East Sussex, Essex and Kent contributes £63 billion a year to the economy – representing around five per cent of GVA so plays a key role in the future prosperity of the United Kingdom."
In recent months it has:
- Commissioned consultants to report on airport capacity in the South East and consider the Thames Estuary Hub Airport proposals.
- Lobbied Government Ministers regarding free flow tolling at the Dartford Crossing and regarding the Third Lower Thames Crossing
- Allocated around £33 million Growing Places Funding to 12 schemes which will help accelerate stalled developments to create much needed new jobs and homes.
- Published a Rail Manifesto, in partnership with New Anglia LEP which covers Norfolk and Suffolk.
- Identified key pinch points for highways improvements across the three counties
- Supported moves for improvements on the M25 especially at Junctions 30/31
- Welcomed the development of the London Gateway and DP World ports
“These are all areas of considerable interest to civil engineers so we are delighted that Dr Susan Priest has agreed to attend this special Breakfast Briefing to share with us the infrastructure plans being developed by SELEP and to take questions from our members about how those plans can be best delivered by working in partnership.”
SELEP Director ,Dr Susan Priest, said: “Civil engineers have a key role to play in delivering the much needed infrastructure improvements to enhance economic growth in the South East so I welcome this opportunity to meet with members of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) as they have expertise and professional knowledge which will help us achieve our goals.
“The South East LEP is working with a range of partners to achieve its core aim of creating the most enterprising economy in England. “I am looking forward to this event and establishing a good working partnership between the civil engineering profession and SELEP.”
ICE South East England has more than 11,000 members living and working in the region. More information can be found at www.ice.org.uk/see. You can follow ICE South East England on Twitter: @ICE_SEEngland