Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

Where are we now?
The purpose of the regional
economic strategy
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1.1 The purpose of the
regional economic strategy
Setting a vision for the East of England
The East of England has been one of the fastest-growing regional
economies in the UK. It benefits from a number of major assets – such
as globally renowned research departments and institutes, leading
companies in growing markets, major new investment to expand
international ports and a strong relationship with London, the world’s
leading financial centre. It also has many inspirational places including
some of the UK’s finest natural habitats and over a quarter of England’s
historic market towns.
The next few years are likely to be a period of accelerating change for
our region – the pressures of globalisation will increase, we will need to
respond to the effects of climate change and our region will continue to
experience considerable growth. How we address these challenges and
capitalise on our opportunities will contribute to the region’s wider
sustainable development objectives and affect the quality of life of the
region’s population.
This regional economic strategy (RES) sets out a vision, bold targets and
priorities so that we can drive forward as a globally competitive region.
In short, the strategy shows where we want to go and how we will get
there. The strategy is owned by the region, and will be delivered through
the collective work of political, business and community leaders and
institutions.
The RES is published alongside the following supporting documents:
• a final evidence base, analysing the economic performance of the
region and the market failures the RES is designed to address
• a new environment-economy modelling report that underpins RES
CO 2 and resource-use targets and policies
• a final integrated sustainability appraisal statement and an additional
investigation into the impacts of growth on biodiversity, flood risk, the
historic environment and landscape.
In addition, regional partners are now working collaboratively to produce
a joint implementation plan for the regional economic and spatial strategies.
This will continue work to prioritise policies and actions.