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Lancashire Economic Strategy

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In 2006 LEP was charged with developing the Lancashire Economic Strategy (LES). The Strategy is designed to improve Lancashire’s economic competitiveness and performance by developing its key economic assets and opportunities within a clearly defined spatial framework.  Therefore the Strategy’s overall challenge and Vision is to ensure sustainable economic growth by:

 ‘Moving the Lancashire Economy Up The Value Chain’

The Strategy provides a coherent framework to deliver the Regional Economic Strategy in Lancashire and supports the implementation of the Central Lancashire City Region Development Programme, part of the Government’s Northern Way Initiative.

The six strategic headline economic priorities identified in the LES are:

To help achieve the Vision and implement the six economic priorities four Lancashire Drivers have been defined, these are:

  • Higher Value Activity and Investment
  • Investment in People
  • Employment Generation & Entrepreneurship
  • Quality of Place

Together the implementation of the Vision, economic priorities and the drivers will help achieve Lancashire’s Strategic Objectives.

  • To grow the market and increase the share of businesses participating in higher value activity across Lancashire
  • Through public sector intervention, increase private investment in improving the knowledge intensity of businesses across Lancashire
  • To increase the amount of the labour force in knowledge intensive employment across Lancashire
  • To increase the levels of entrepreneurship
  • To grow the size of the workforce in employment across Lancashire
  • Through public sector enabling, attract private investment that will enhance the economic investment appeal of the cities, towns and market towns, and of the urban, coastal and rural settings.

Whilst the LES identifies the strategic framework, the sub-regional action plan identifies those programmes and projects funded by the public and private sector, which will deliver the economic priorities.

Action Plan Priorities

  • Blackpool World Class Resort Destination
  • Preston City Vision/Central Lancashire
  • Pennine Lancashire Transformational Agenda
  • Lancaster & Morecambe Vision
  • West Lancashire Regeneration
  • Aerospace & Advanced Manufacturing
  • Skills
  • Enterprise and Sustainable Business Growth
  • Tourism
  • Exploiting Business in Rural Areas
  • Quality of Place