The Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, Mims Davies, has called on her constituents to have their say over the future of the Solent area, further to a meeting with Business Board Member Brian Johnson and Chief Executive Anne-Marie Mountfield of the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
The call comes as the Solent LEP – which covers an area from Ringwood in the West to Havant in the East, Bishopstoke in the North to Ventnor on the Isle of Wight in the South - develops a Local Industrial Strategy for the Solent focussing on skills, transport connections, sustainability and communities.
Commenting, Eastleigh MP Mims Davies said:
“As ever it was great to have an opportunity to meet with Brian and Anne-Marie. It is vital that this Local Industrial Strategy reflects the needs of the Eastleigh area, and I made absolutely clear that connectivity, infrastructure and retaining skills – particularly from Southampton University – should be at the very heart of this new Strategy.
“It is only by delivering on these areas that we will get our area moving and boost productivity which is key to local jobs and the wellbeing of all of us, and I would urge constituents, and particularly local businesses to feed their views in to the Solent LEP at this early stage.”
Also commenting, Chief Executive of the Solent LEP, Anne-Marie Mountfield said:
"We have seen very strong engagement with our Local Industrial Strategy consultation to date and are delighted to be working with Mims to promote the opportunity for Eastleigh constituents to get involved.
“Eastleigh is a key economic hub for the Solent, home to Southampton Airport which connects us with the world, as well as a host of businesses that are important locally, regionally and nationally. The Solent is strategically positioned to be the UK’s global gateway through its ports and air connections and it is our ambition to build on the strengths of the area to set the area on a pathway to a more prosperous future for all.
“We hope that feedback to inform our Local Industrial Strategy will help shape priorities for future investment in Eastleigh, and across the region, as we seek to build on our work to date."
Click here to take part in our survey on the future of the Solent economy. Please complete the survey before 23:59 on Friday 19th July 2019 to ensure your views can be considered.