The plan to combine Cambridge and Peterborough in a local economic partnership has already prompted one witty cynic to dub it the “People’s Republic of Camborough”.
But while some see it as an unlikely union, those behind the planned LEP claim it is a chance to break down restrictive administrative boundaries and capture the very best of the region.
The proposed Greater Cambridge & Greater Peterborough LEP could be among several in the region to replace the East of England Development Agency, as the new government dismantles regional infrastructure over the next two years. The government wrote to business leaders and local authorities across the English regions in late June inviting them to form LEPs, and true to its localism agenda, set few parameters for the size or boundaries of the partnerships.
But as it expects LEPs to play a key role in rebalancing the economy towards the private sector and offset reductions in public spending, business and councils are required to work closely together.
The full responsibilities of LEPs are not yet clear, with a white paper due in the autumn, but they are expected to take a role in planning, housing, local transport, infrastructure, employment and enterprise. Potential partnerships had to make their bids by 6 September.
The Cambridge LEP made an initial bid last month to get the backing of business secretary Vince Cable and communities secretary Eric Pickles. It incorporates Peterborough, Cambridge and surrounding hinterlands such as the Fenland district and Huntingdon, in total covering 1.3m people.
John Bridge, chair of the LEP project board and chief executive of Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce, says the partnership is based on the “natural economic geography” of the region.
“The local authorities agreed that their boundaries were an artificial barrier,” he says. “We have two core cities and rural market towns that incorporate the natural economic and travel-to-work area.”
He says that with Cambridge’s knowledge-based economy and Peterborough’s cluster of environmental businesses, the two cities can complement each other. Bridge also happens to be chair of Peterborough’s urban development company, Opportunity Peterborough, which has embraced ambitious growth targets, including 25,000 more homes by 2021. With poor land availability around Cambridge, Peterborough will not simply be the junior partner.
But, as was the case around the country, negotiations have been far from plain sailing. Peterborough had initially intended to set up its own LEP with surrounding areas, but was persuaded otherwise. There is also a significant minority of business leaders in Cambridge who would rather look further to the south than maintain a purely eastern focus, and who question whether the LEP will have the clout needed to do business with the government.
Steve Sharrett, chair of the CBI’s eastern region, has mooted a rival bid incorporating much of the former RDA’s original patch, such as Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The region, he says, is in danger of being sidelined by the new government, which has already suspended the A14 road upgrade, and he has published his own economic blueprint to press the case for funding. But Sharratt’s close association with EEDA, through his Space for Ideas business leaders forum, has already led to claims that it would simply replicate the outgoing RDA, complete with former staff. It is a claim that EEDA denies.
Bridge says opposition to the Cambridge & Peterborough LEP is in the minority, and the fact that the area generates £30bn a year for the national economy should find favour with the government.
Chris Haworth, head of the commercial division at Carter Jonas, says it is extremely important that Cambridge and Peterborough be incorporated together.
“Cambridge is limited in land, but Peterborough isn’t and is very keen to grow. You could envisage a Cambridge company developing new technology and Peterborough having the space to set up the manufacturer. The two are complementary, not competing,” he says.
