Cumbria LEP names new chairman

Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership has appointed Lord Inglewood to chair its board.

Lord Inglewood currently chairs training provider Gen2. He has previously chaired Cumbrian businesses Carr’s Milling Industries and CN Group and has served twice as an MEP, also serving as a Conserative whip in the Lords for a spell in the 1990s, after inheriting the title from his father in 1989.

To take on the LEP role, he has given up the Tory whip and will now sit in the House of Lords as a non-affiliated peer.

Lord Inglewood is currently president of Cumbria Tourism and has been a deputy lieutenant for Cumbria since 1993 and vice-lord lieutenant for Cumbria since 2012. He said: “I am really looking forward to working with the LEP and all of its partners.

“I am passionate about Cumbria and this is an opportunity to shape and deliver economic growth in the county in the coming years, and help meet the needs of local businesses, residents and communities.

“Cumbria has huge economic potential, but also faces challenges, such as the need to increase its working age population, improve its skill levels and upgrade its infrastructure.

“An early priority for me will be to work closely with the LEP’s partners to deliver a strategy that showcases our strengths and makes a compelling case to government and the private sector for investment in Cumbria.”

Cumbria LEP said that it is looking to strengthen further its leadership team and will shortly be announcing new board member appointments.

Major projects in the region that the LEP is supporting include the Britain’s Energy Coast-led redevelopment of a key Whitehaven site, for which a £55m first phase is moving forward; the development of Carlisle Lake District Airport and the development of new nuclear power.