On 11th July, our Executive Director, Steven Lynch MBE, wrote to the new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, Angela Rayner MP, relaying our key position that given the correct infrastructure investment, the East is poised to contribute significantly to the Governments housing targets.
You can read the full letter below:
Dear Secretary of State,
RE: Delivering inclusive growth in the East
Many congratulations on your recent election victory in Ashton-under-Lyne and your appointment as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. We would like to welcome you to the region on behalf of the Eastern Powerhouse, a business-led membership body, that represents the entire East of England. Our aim is to maximise the region's assets and unlock economic growth for local and national benefit.
We are excited about your early commitment to housing delivery in the United Kingdom and believe that the East of England is strategically placed to deliver the new homes and new communities you envisage. Certainly, given the correct infrastructure investment, the East is poised to contribute significantly to your targets. We have also noted with enthusiasm your commitment to devolution and regional development. We currently have a Mayoral Combined Authority representing Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and a further two potential devolution deals for Norfolk and Suffolk which we hope you will commit to.
Whilst the East has a burgeoning economy, with world-leading industries, the region is also blighted by areas of deprivation. We hope that you will work with us to make sure our most isolated rural communities and coastal towns are central to future policy decisions that will allow everyone in the East to benefit from future growth.
The East is among the most productive areas of the UK, one of only three regions and nations that make a net contribution to the national economy. Yet, it has long been overlooked in favour of other parts of the UK. We hope that your government, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will give the East of England the attention needed to help it grow and further contribute to the UK’s economy. We have long maintained that investment in the East will gain significant returns, not readily achievable elsewhere.
We would welcome an opportunity to meet with you and your team to explain our work to date, and the ideas that we have developed, many of which were included in our Manifesto for the East, which was published in June.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Steven Lynch MBE Executive Director Eastern Powerhouse