Local Economic Assessment (Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole)

What is the Local Economic Assessment?

We all rely on having good information. The Local Economic Assessment (LEA) provides a profile of the local economy and a common economic evidence base for use alike by businesses, public sector bodies and the Government. The LEA gives a detailed understanding of economic strengths, opportunities and challenges in Dorset. By using a common evidence base, we can help to guide planning and investment strategies and promote greater partnership working in delivering shared aspirations.

The Coalition Government has recently removed the statutory guidance, set down by the previous administration, which tightly prescribed the content of LEAs. Partners now have greater freedom to determine what should be included. In addition, the Government has stated that it does not intend to monitor or assess LEAs. The letter from Grant Shapps (pdf, 35kb) (opens in a new window) , Minister for Housing and Local Government, on the 23 September 2010, clarifies the position of the Coalition Government regarding local economic assessments.

The new found freedom has allowed the Steering Group to restructure the report and provide more of a steer on opportunities and future challenges facing the local economy. This reflects one of the main messages to come out of the LEA launch event last September.

Outcome of Partner Engagement Event, Poole Lighthouse, 23 September 2010

Some one hundred delegates representing a variety of business and public sector interests attended a partner event at the Lighthouse, Poole's arts centre, to discuss the emerging Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole LEA. Attendees were presented with a summary (pdf, 1Mb) (opens in a new window)  and the key findings (pdf, 867kb) (opens in a new window) .

This consultation event was extremely valuable with key messages (pdf, 67kb) (opens in a new window)  received from partners.

The Final Document

The Local Economic Assessment for Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole (pdf, 1Mb) (opens in a new window) sets out the key characteristics of the economy. There is also an executive summary (pdf, 546kb) (opens in a new window)  which picks out some of the key messages and incorporates the conclusions and recommendations from the main document. Individual chapters will also be available on this web page in due course to allow simple navigation between the main themes in the assessment.

Local Economic Assessments and Local Enterprise Partnerships

The Government expects LEAs to play a crucial role in underpinning the work of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) between businesses and public sector bodies which are intended to promote enterprise in functional economic areas. On the 28 October the Government confirmed its initial 'first wave' of twenty-four submissions approved for development into new LEPs. The Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole LEP bid was not selected to progress at this stage.

Since then the Government has had a chance to consider how LEPs might best serve their functional economies and our partners have had an opportunity to review their position accordingly. A new prospectus for the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership was submitted to Government on 28 June 2011 and was officially approved on 7 July. The partnership has been invited to form an LEP Board. The Dorset LEP covers the same geographical area as the initial bid (i.e. Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole). The local economic assessment will provide a valuable evidence base in support of this partnership work.

More details are available at the Local Enterprise Partnership webpage.

The contact details for Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole can be found below.

• Group Manager - Spatial Planning
  Name: Mr Mike Garrity
  Email: m.garrity@dorsetcc.gov.uk
  Tel: 01305 221826
  Full details for Mr Mike Garrity