Suffolk County Council has worked with its partners
on many varied projects which improve the well-being of the
residents of Suffolk and the Suffolk economy. The following are
examples of projects aiming to eradicate weaknesses in the economy
and build on its strengths.
OrbisEnergy
The
OrbisEnergy to be based at Ness Point, Lowestoft, will be
a physical centre for the sector and comprises of workspace,
conference area and library facilities. It will provide a major hub
for the development of the emerging renewable energy market linking
businesses with research, fostering creation of Small Medium Sized
Enterprises (SME) and stimulating investment.
The centre will comprise approximately 3,000 square metres of
internal floor area and will contain flexible office accommodation
for 26 SMEs.
The location at Ness Point, Lowestoft adjacent to currently the
largest wind turbine in the UK will provide a strong focal point
both for this new sector development and also as a symbol of the
regeneration of the town. For more information, please email
cherly.paget@econdev.suffolkcc.gov.uk
or
neil.mcmanus@clav.suffolkcc.gov.uk.
Sizewell A decommissioning
Suffolk County Council have been in discussion with
Sizewell A, and other local key partners on how to reduce the
socio-economic impact of the decommissioning of Sizewell A in the
district and county. The Partnership Taskforce Group which has been
created as a result, will be committed to working with local
stakeholders to support activities benefiting the Leiston economy
and consider how the funding from the Nuclear Decommissioning
Authority (NDA) can support the decommissioning of Sizewell A and
support wider socio-economic objectives. For more information,
please email
cherly.paget@econdev.suffolkcc.gov.uk.
Carbon Reduction Programme (CRed)
This MAJOR carbon reduction programme is supported
and funded by Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council
and calls on families and businesses to save energy and help fight
global warming.
CRed is a nationally recognised carbon reduction
programme. CRed was set up by climate scientists from the
University of East Anglia in Norwich and has worked to reduce
carbon emissions in the region. Now Suffolk County Council and
Ipswich Borough Council have joined forces to employ a CRed
co-ordinator to deliver a range of carbon reduction programmes
across the county.
The aim is to sign up 500 householders and around
30 businesses in the Ipswich area to CRed in the next six months.
For more information
email: emma.wilkins@et.suffolkcc.gov.uk
1st East Urban Regeneration Company
1st East is the Urban Regeneration Company for
Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, aiming to generate economic growth
and create jobs in the two areas by co-ordinating development in
the brownfield and waterfront areas. 1st East is developing, in
close partnership with Waveney District Council and Great Yarmouth
Borough Council, Area Action Plans for the URC areas,
masterplanning the future development of the brownfield and
waterfront sites in the two towns. The other funding partners of
1st East are Suffolk County Council, Norfolk County Council and
EEDA.
For more information about 1st East, please visit their website
www.1steast.co.uk
An
Urban
Regeneration Company (URC) is a separate private legal entity.
It seeks to achieve a radical physical transformation of its area
through implementation of its shared vision in a way that could not
be achieved through individual ad hoc decisions. A URC is an expert
in its local area, and the local authority, local employers,
amenity groups and community representatives play an important part
in its work, with the regional context represented by the Regional
Development Agency (RDA). A URC coordinates investment plans from
both the public and the private sectors, and attracts new
investment through the purposeful and imaginative promotion and
regeneration of its area.
For more information, please email:
michael.moll@et.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Suffolk Rural Economy Scheme
The Suffolk Rural Economy Scheme is a successor to the Rural
Services Scheme, and started at the end of October 2007 and will
run for 2 years. For further information on this project, please
visit the
Suffolk Rural Economy Scheme web page.
Waveney Sunrise Project
This project is an exciting £14.7 million
regeneration package. The
Waveney Sunrise
Scheme is transforming large areas of Lowestoft’s shopping and
seafront areas. It will give the town a massive facelift and has
been designed to increase business development and tourism, and
create new jobs and prosperity. That’s good news for local
businesses, shoppers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
Workforce training and development
University Campus Suffolk (UCS)
University Campus Suffolk will provide Suffolk with
a thriving university campus and newly built further education
college in the county town of Ipswich. This development will form
the Education Quarter, located on and around the town's exciting
and rapidly redeveloping Waterfront.
UCS will also provide a number of innovative
learning centres across Suffolk offering advice, opportunities and
progression routes to further study at university level. UCS will
address the problems of rural isolation in Suffolk and help to
ensure that university, or "higher" education is accessible to as
many people as possible. For further information please visit the
following USC site
www.ucs.ac.uk.
Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is
responsible for education and training for everyone after the age
of 16 except those studying in universities. So whether you are at
school, or further education college, or gaining qualifications
through work - it's likely that the LSC has been involved in
funding and planning your training.
LSC work in Suffolk covers: further education
colleges; training at work; school sixth forms; working with
employers to develop skills; adult and community learning; and
information, advice and guidance for adults and young people.
The Further Education Colleges in Suffolk are:
The Higher Education Institutions in Suffolk
are:
Sector development
Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, in the East of
England, have traditionally a strong industry base in the offshore
oil and gas sector, with substantial energy and marine experience.
The ports of these twin towns are ideally located for serving a
large number of offshore wind energy farms. As the most easterly
point of the UK, they are between two of the UK, “Round Two”
offshore wind areas, where 13 of the 15 licenses for large scale
offshore wind farms were awarded: the Thames Estuary and the
Greater Wash area.
The region has the ambition of becoming one of the
key players in offshore wind energy for the UK. This aspiration has
broad political and institutional support. One key project to
further this aspiration is the planned high profile Offshore
Renewable Energy Centre in Lowestoft, which is hoped to be built
during the next 3 years, funded by the Regional Development Agency,
Objective 2 and local councils. The Centre will support the
development of the offshore renewables sector, providing quality
office accommodation, a landmark building for the sector and the
region, and the opportunity to closely link research and education
with business activities.
Pushing offshore Wind Energy Regions (POWER)
Pushing offshore Wind Energy Regions (POWER)
The POWER initiative has created a North Sea competence network
for offshore wind energy. It has established strong networks
between leading offshore wind regions, involving both support
organisations and businesses of the sector. A strength of the
partnership is the combination of regional expertise in onshore
wind energy and in offshore oil and gas industries, which makes
collaboration particularly beneficial. Suffolk County Council has
taking an important role in the project, taking the lead for the
area of economic support and supply chain development.
POWER was funded between 2003 and 2007 by European funding
through the Interreg North Sea Programme. Suffolk County Council is
involved in a bid for funding for a follow-on project, POWER
CLUSTER. For more information, please visit the
POWER
web site or email: jai.raithatha@suffolkcc.gov.uk