Haverhill must raise its voice in new economic landscape, businesses are told
Thursday, 18th November 2010.
Haverhill businesses need to be asking crucial questions about the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) which will be replacing the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) soon, according to EEDA's boss.
Deborah Cadman, chief executive of EEDA, and formerly chief executive of St Edmundsbury Council, was talking to town businesses at the monthly Best of Haverhill meeting at Days Inn in the town this morning.
As her job will be coming to an end in 2012, Ms Cadman said she 'had nothing to lose' in being honest about her views of LEPs, which the Government is putting in place of regional development agencies like EEDA.
She revealed that EEDA had done much for Haverhill in recent years, including investing £300,000 in measures to prevent Vion from pulling out of the area a couple of years ago.
The pork packing factory at Little Wratting is still a major local employer and Ms Cadman said EEDA's efforts had saved not only 1,000 jobs but also the local pig and pork supply chain.
EEDA had also contributed £120,000 towards Menta's new training centre in Hollands Road, she said, and had helped many companies deal with early liquidity problems before they were able to attract investment from venture capitalists.
These included three Haverhill firms - GT Vision, Kirton Healthcare Ltd and LMK Thermosafe, which had all gone on to secure funding from other sources.
But she said businesses should now be considering how these services were to be accessed in future, as much of EEDA's regional work was being taken back into Whitehall.
She said they should be asking their MPs who would now advocate or arbitrate for them with central government.
She praised St Edmundsbury for aligning itself with both the Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough LEP and with the fledgling Norfolk and Suffolk LEP, as both would have something to offer the borough.
She said Britain's growth out of recession would be based on communities like Haverhill where manufacturing stillplays a significant role and where land was available.
But she urged Haverhill to take advantage of the 'absolutely immense' opportunities available from the Cambridge phenomenon, and thought the town still had much more to gain from that.
"Haverhill is a very strategically significant place," she said, "and that in itself is a significant determinant of business success."
But there were important elements to be worked on, including access to markets and to the right skills levels.
"You should be more demanding of the advantages to be had out of proximity to Cambridge," she said. "Haverhill is a cheaper place to be and yet close enough to do really good business with Cambridge."
She produced some startling statistics on the issue of skills levels. In Suffolk, 12.9 per cent of the working age population have no qualifications at all, which is higher than the national average.
She revealed that when she became chief executive of St Edmundsbury she was shocked by the percentage of council employees who could not read or write, and developed measures to help them.
Suffolk also has a lower than average proportion of workers with level two skills (five GCSEs) and level four skills (degree or equivalent), so businesses might find they did not have the required skills locally.
Business creation levels are also below the national average, but St Edmundsbury is the best district and Ms Cadman said Haverhill played a crucial part in that.
She said she had no doubt that education was the way out of deprivation and urged businesses to ask their LEPs if the workforce of today and tomorrow would have the right skills to take advantage of the opportunities.
She also had a warning about the growth of Haverhill, saying it was important not to be seen as a dormitory town, and there was a need for a range of types of new housing to be built.
Deborah Cadman, chief executive of EEDA, and formerly chief executive of St Edmundsbury Council, was talking to town businesses at the monthly Best of Haverhill meeting at Days Inn in the town this morning.
As her job will be coming to an end in 2012, Ms Cadman said she 'had nothing to lose' in being honest about her views of LEPs, which the Government is putting in place of regional development agencies like EEDA.
She revealed that EEDA had done much for Haverhill in recent years, including investing £300,000 in measures to prevent Vion from pulling out of the area a couple of years ago.
The pork packing factory at Little Wratting is still a major local employer and Ms Cadman said EEDA's efforts had saved not only 1,000 jobs but also the local pig and pork supply chain.
EEDA had also contributed £120,000 towards Menta's new training centre in Hollands Road, she said, and had helped many companies deal with early liquidity problems before they were able to attract investment from venture capitalists.
These included three Haverhill firms - GT Vision, Kirton Healthcare Ltd and LMK Thermosafe, which had all gone on to secure funding from other sources.
But she said businesses should now be considering how these services were to be accessed in future, as much of EEDA's regional work was being taken back into Whitehall.
She said they should be asking their MPs who would now advocate or arbitrate for them with central government.
She praised St Edmundsbury for aligning itself with both the Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough LEP and with the fledgling Norfolk and Suffolk LEP, as both would have something to offer the borough.
She said Britain's growth out of recession would be based on communities like Haverhill where manufacturing stillplays a significant role and where land was available.
But she urged Haverhill to take advantage of the 'absolutely immense' opportunities available from the Cambridge phenomenon, and thought the town still had much more to gain from that.
"Haverhill is a very strategically significant place," she said, "and that in itself is a significant determinant of business success."
But there were important elements to be worked on, including access to markets and to the right skills levels.
"You should be more demanding of the advantages to be had out of proximity to Cambridge," she said. "Haverhill is a cheaper place to be and yet close enough to do really good business with Cambridge."
She produced some startling statistics on the issue of skills levels. In Suffolk, 12.9 per cent of the working age population have no qualifications at all, which is higher than the national average.
She revealed that when she became chief executive of St Edmundsbury she was shocked by the percentage of council employees who could not read or write, and developed measures to help them.
Suffolk also has a lower than average proportion of workers with level two skills (five GCSEs) and level four skills (degree or equivalent), so businesses might find they did not have the required skills locally.
Business creation levels are also below the national average, but St Edmundsbury is the best district and Ms Cadman said Haverhill played a crucial part in that.
She said she had no doubt that education was the way out of deprivation and urged businesses to ask their LEPs if the workforce of today and tomorrow would have the right skills to take advantage of the opportunities.
She also had a warning about the growth of Haverhill, saying it was important not to be seen as a dormitory town, and there was a need for a range of types of new housing to be built.
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