Solent Local Enterprise Partnership

Solent Local Enterprise Partnership
Name	Solent Local Enterprise Partnership
Region	South Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Founded	2011
Type	Partnership
Chair	(see Governance and Structure)
Website	(omitted)

Solent Local Enterprise Partnership The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership is a regional business-led partnership covering Portsmouth, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Fareham, Gosport, Eastleigh, New Forest, Havant, and Winchester. It was established to coordinate investment, infrastructure, and industrial strategy across the wider Solent area, working with national bodies such as Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Department for Transport, and Homes and Communities Agency to align local priorities with pan‑regional initiatives including the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and transport programmes.

History

The partnership was created in 2011 amid the wave of city‑region initiatives that followed the formation of other LEPs such as Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. Early activity linked to recovery efforts after the 2008 financial downturn saw collaboration with organisations like Network Rail and Highways England to pursue infrastructure improvements. Over the 2010s it engaged with projects tied to maritime clusters around Port of Southampton and HMNB Portsmouth, research alliances with University of Southampton and University of Portsmouth, and housing delivery dialogues involving Homes England and local planning authorities. The partnership’s work intersected with regional transport workstreams such as proposals for the Portsmouth Direct Line improvements and discussions related to the Solent Tunnel concept. Reforms to national funding frameworks, including shifts in Local Growth Fund allocations, affected its programme delivery and led to periodic strategic refreshes.

Governance and Structure

Governance has combined private sector chairs and public sector board members drawn from councils including Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight Council, Portsmouth City Council, and Southampton City Council, alongside representation from academic institutions like Southampton Solent University and business bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses and Confederation of British Industry. Executive delivery has been supported by a chief executive and programme directors who liaised with delivery partners including Homes England, Transport for the South East, and regional growth hubs. Funding streams historically came from central allocations via Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and match contributions from local authorities and private investors including pension funds and regional venture groups.

Economic Strategy and Priorities

The partnership prioritised sectors where the Solent has comparative advantage: maritime and port services centered on Port of Southampton and the Isle of Wight ferry network; advanced manufacturing and aerospace linked to firms like Boeing supply chains and QinetiQ; digital and creative industries clustered around Southampton Science Park and Dennett's Wharf‑area initiatives; and marine renewables connected to testing zones and offshore energy contractors engaged with the Round 3 leasing process. Skills priorities were developed with providers including City College Southampton and Portsmouth College to address labour needs in shipbuilding at yards tied to Harland and Wolff legacy sites and defence supply contracts with BAE Systems.

Key Projects and Investments

Major programmes backed or convened included port infrastructure enhancements at Southampton Water berths, business park development at Solent Enterprise Zone locations, and urban regeneration schemes touching Gunwharf Quays and Ocean Village. Transport investments encompassed support for rail station upgrades such as at Southampton Central and strategic highway improvements linked to junctions on the M27 corridor. Skills and innovation investments funded incubators, collaborative research with National Oceanography Centre, and maritime technology demonstrators. Town‑centre regeneration activity intersected with housing delivery pipelines, utilising mechanisms similar to those employed by Homes England and local combined authorities elsewhere.

Membership and Stakeholders

Members comprised private sector leaders from maritime firms, logistics operators, higher education vice‑chancellors, trade union representatives, and local authority leaders from boroughs across the Solent geography. Key stakeholder relationships included freight operators at Fawley Refinery (until its closure), defence establishments such as HMNB Portsmouth and Portsmouth Naval Base, and education partners like University of Portsmouth and University of Southampton. Engagement extended to national agencies including Environment Agency on coastal resilience and to non‑governmental organisations active in skills and social inclusion.

Performance and Impact

Performance metrics reported by the partnership encompassed job creation figures, private sector leverage against public investment, and numbers of homes enabled through planning interventions. Evaluations pointed to measurable delivery in port‑related capacity, business space provision in enterprise zones, and skills outcomes tied to apprenticeships and sector‑specific training. Independent assessments and audit reviews compared outputs with other LEPs such as Humber Local Enterprise Partnership and Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership when appraising value for money and regional growth contributions.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critiques focused on transparency of decision‑making, allocation of Local Growth Fund monies, and perceived overlap with neighbouring bodies such as Transport for the South East and county councils, mirroring issues raised in reviews of other LEPs including Greater Cambridgeshire and Greater Peterborough LEP. Controversies also arose over project prioritisation where regeneration schemes were seen as favouring urban centres like Southampton and Portsmouth at the expense of rural communities in the New Forest and Isle of Wight, and where commercial confidentiality limited public scrutiny of procurement linked to infrastructure contractors.

Category:Organisations based in Hampshire