Hertfordshire County Council has submitted plans to create a local enterprise partnership (LEP) to take over regeneration powers held by the South East Development Agency.

The LEP proposal, which has the official support of companies such as Lambert Smith Hampton, Tesco, and Mouchel, is the latest to have been submitted to the government ahead of a deadline of 6 September.

The coalition wants LEPs to take on economic development and regeneration powers from regional development agencies (RDAs), which are due to be abolished by March 2012 via primary legislation.

Each will take the form of public-private parnerships with the private sector having a majority on the board.

In Hertfordshire, the county council has the support of 10 borough and district councils, as well as around 30 private companies.

In UK city regions, similar LEPs are currently mooted for Leeds, Greater Manchester and Sheffield, while other local authorities fight out the geographical make-up of the new LEP areas.

Further clarity about this, and more detail on their structure and powers is expected by the autumn in a Regional Growth white paper.

Robert Gordon, leader of Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We already have a strong basis for a Local Enterprise Partnership in Hertfordshire as our existing partnership, called Hertfordshire Works, brings together many of the main players involved in improving Hertfordshire’s economy.

“We believe we can move quickly to establish a Hertfordshire local enterprise partnership and look forward to working with the government in the coming weeks in order to do so.”

In June, Eric Pickles and Vince Cable (pictured) wrote to local authorities instructing them to submit ideas for how LEPs might work in their area.

To read the letter, click here: 10-1026-final-letter-local-enterprise-partnerships

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