Anglia Ruskin University < GO BACK TO ALL MEMBERS ARU’s mission is to transform lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. We are a proud regional university, providing a full range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, and undertaking impactful research across health, performance and wellbeing; sustainable futures; and safe and inclusive communities. We work with over 500 businesses across the eastern region and are one of the UK’s leading providers of degree apprenticeships. The Eastern region is a fantastic place in which to live, work, and do business. And it has huge potential – it is home to world leading research and innovation and some of the best public services in the country. Its business base is broad and varied, ranging from SMEs through to global players in a range of sectors, and its cultural and tourism offer is outstanding. Our region needs continued investment in infrastructure, housing, skills and training, and a strong focus on sustainability, the environment and quality of life. Building on our region’s fantastic foundations, we must all work more closely together – across public, private and third sectors – to create a truly global powerhouse which will realise the great potential we have, and address the inequalities that exist. We welcome the opportunity to be part of the Eastern Powerhouse, working with partners to drive inclusive regional growth that benefits us all. 1/1 Website: Twitter: https://aru.ac.uk/ https://twitter.com/AngliaRuskin

Workstreams HOME > ABOUT > WORKSTREAMS Education and skills We will highlight the disparities in skill levels and educational attainment within the region, with a focus on workforce development. Innovation We will work with partners to promote the scientific, technological and industrial developments required to ensure that the East is a world leading innovation-led ecosystem. Infrastructure We will advocate for improvements to vital infrastructure, including transport and housing, to address the disparities in investment (per capita) between the East and the Greater South-East.

William Rooke < GO BACK TO ADVISORY BOARD William is an experienced Chartered Surveyor operating in the commercial property market in the eastern region. William is based in Cambridge and heads up the Eastern Commercial team at property consultancy Carter Jonas, acting for a range of clients in both the public and private sectors on a variety of real estate matters. William has a track record of delivering on transactions across the eastern region and using his expertise and contacts to establish the business cases for investment, working with the other Eastern Powerhouse board members to promote and prioritise these areas within the wider business community and central government

State of the Region 2023 - Falling Behind and Not Catching Up < GO BACK TO ALL PUBLICATIONS State of the Region 2023 - Falling Behind and Not Catching Up This report highlights the considerable challenges which the regional economy is facing. The East is still dealing with the aftershock of macro events including the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine while adjusting to the post-Brexit settlement and new trade agreements. The region remains one of the largest and most productive economies in the UK but there are worrying signs that the East of England has slipped relative to other regions and nations – with negative wage growth, falling vacancies, fewer new enterprises and rising business closures, decreasing levels of Foreign Direct Investment, as well as an increasing trade deficit. There are, however, huge opportunities to be realised across the East that can help drive productive growth in the UK. The region has significant advantages in knowledge-based industries and world class research institutions. Growing and scaling businesses in these high value sectors is vital to the regional and national economy. Widening access and opportunity to these industries is also vital to levelling up and ensuring that all parts of the region benefit from good growth. Published: November 2023 Download Press Release Key findings: 1. GVA per hour worked is widely used as an indicator for productivity. Both the East and the UK have maintained low levels of growth but the gap between the East and UK average has gradually widened in recent years, from £2.03 in 2017 to £2.43 in 2021. 2. The East shows a slightly lower level of employment growth (-0.6%) since 2019 compared to the UK average growth. 3. Unemployment has started to rise while the number of job vacancies have decreased since 2019. The East of England has a similar trend to the UK over the last four years but a more significant decline in vacancies. 4. Since 2019 there has been a sharp increase in the proportion of vacancies relating to skill shortages as well as skill gaps among the existing workforce, while levels of investment in work-based training have remained flat as participation rates in training have fallen. 5. There has been a decrease (7.4%) in the number of FDI projects and a fall in FDI jobs (23.6%), while the UK increased by 4.1% and decreased by 6.1% respectively. 6. Full-time annual earnings in the East have increased substantially from £653 to £789 per week, but compared to the change in earnings in the UK over the last four years the East has regressed during this period (-1.2%). 7. The annual values of both exports and imports experienced a significant decline in 2020. While this has swiftly rebounded with more substantial growth in non-EU trades compared to trade within the EU, a widening trade in goods deficit has emerged (£15.81 bn, an increase from the trade deficit of £14.03 bn in the year ending Q1 2022). 8. The East, like the UK, has experienced a decline in new business establishments (a decrease of 13.9%) paralleled by an upward trend in business closures (an increase of 8.5%) since 2019.

James Palmer < GO BACK TO ADVISORY BOARD James was the first Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and spent 14 years in local government. It was during his time as a leader and as Mayor that James became aware of the lack of investment into the east, in comparison to other regions and the lack of a strategic voice here. During his time in politics, James was responsible for a number of key projects, including Ely Leisure Village, Peterborough University and Soham Railway Station. James also worked on the Ely Southern Bypass, the King’s Dyke Crossing and Cambridge South Station. James is passionate about adult education and transformed the service during his time as Mayor, concentrating on retraining opportunities for the low paid and those out of work. James supported businesses during the first lockdown, giving grants to allow them to invest and grow. Outside politics, James began working life as a farmer and has run retail and development businesses. James has lived in the East of England all his life.

Prashant Shah < GO BACK TO ADVISORY BOARD Prashant is the CEO of o2h co-work labs, a general partner of the o2h seed fund and the co-CEO/co-founder of the o2h group. The vision of o2h is to seed new ideas in life-science, technology and green innovation. He holds various board, NED and chair positions and is the founder of a number of micro-community groups including the AIM squad, techbio caucus, bootcamps, innovation conferences and a Cambridge open day. As a serial entrepreneur from the dot-com era now covering life-science and tech he co-founded a drug discovery company that was acquired by a major public company. He is an active ecosystem, community and culture builder and interests include seed investing, services and product/IP development. Prashant has experience of funding, designing and building companies, teams and lab/office infra across the spheres of the east and west. He began his career with the strategy group of Accenture in London working across various industry groups including music, FMCG, financial services and big pharma. Prashant is an author and has a BEng, an MSc, in which he worked on the robotics of Human Genome Program at the Sanger Centre, and an MPhil in Management from the Judge Institute, Cambridge University which included research on the strategies on the competition of nations.

PLMR Genesis < GO BACK TO ALL MEMBERS PLMR|Genesis is one of the East of England’s leading integrated communications agencies. We provide businesses, public sectors bodies and third sector organisations with full-service communications support - including public affairs, PR, digital marketing and reputation management services. Part of the wider PLMR Group, we deliver communications with impact for clients based in the East of England and across the UK. From FTSE 100 corporates to start-ups and disruptors, we work with clients across a range of industries, including the infrastructure, transport, energy, education, manufacturing, tech, health & social care and professional services sectors. The East of England is at the forefront of many exciting, innovative and rapidly developing industries that have a critical role to play in driving the growth and success of the UK in both the short and longer-term. We know how vital it is for the East of England – along with its constituent businesses and public sector partners – to consistently raise its profile and ensure the value, contribution and future potential of the region is fully understood and recognised by key policymakers and stakeholders. It is critical that the East of England continues to make its case for investment and support so that its potential can be realised. PLMR|Genesis is proud to be a member of the Eastern Powerhouse and we are keen to work with organisations across the region to make these ambitions a reality. 1/1 Website: Twitter: https://plmr.co.uk/genesis/ https://twitter.com/GenesisPRuk

Fenland District Council < GO BACK TO ALL MEMBERS 1/1 Website: Twitter: https://www.fenland.gov.uk/ https://twitter.com/FenlandCouncil

Chaplin Hotels < GO BACK TO ALL MEMBERS Chaplin Hotels is a collection of independent, boutique hotels based in East Anglia. Refined luxury, unparalleled comfort and gracious hospitality coupled with special touches and experiences make each hotel unique and every experience unforgettable. Take a tour of historic Cambridge in one of the Gonville Hotel’s classic Bentleys, cruise down the river Wensum in style on the Maids Head’s very own Frolic 31 electric launch or enjoy a lunch on the stunning Brancaster Beach with a gourmet picnic prepared by the Ship Hotel’s chef. 1/1 Website: Twitter: https://www.chaplinhotels.co.uk

Peterborough City Council < GO BACK TO ALL MEMBERS Peterborough City Council provides services for over 215,000 residents and works strategically to deliver economic growth and investment. Its newly adopted Corporate Strategy sets out plans to achieve a Sustainable Future City Council which delivers improved opportunities for all and a financially stable council. Peterborough is a city of opportunity – it is one of the fastest growing parts of the Eastern Region, vibrant, multicultural and with a younger than average population. Between 2015 and 2019, the city’s population grew by 4.28% whilst the local economy grew by 27.44%, evidence that Peterborough can attract high productivity growth and in an inclusive and sustainable way. The city is the third fastest growing urban economy in the country and among the top 15 cities with the highest number of business start-ups and patents in the UK. Peterborough has also grown to become a top four employer in the UK’s ‘Golden Logistics Triangle’, providing for thousands of additional jobs within the warehouse and transport sector in and around the city. With a new university, ambitious plans for re-imagining the city centre and the embankment, well maintained parks, the city is surrounded by an abundance of nature, local markets, a wide range of retail offerings and many tourist attractions. All this, supported by a proud heritage and world class digital infrastructure, is making Peterborough an attractive place to live, invest, work, visit and play. The East needs to be considered as a force for national growth in its own right outside of London and the South East. The area requires increased focus and investment to meet its full potential and could easily provide an extra £30bn in economic growth and in turn an increased tax income for the Treasury in excess of £10bn. The government is seriously under investing in the area and missing a huge opportunity for growth. This is further demonstrated in the government’s approach to levelling up for which the East region, with a population of 6m, will receive £87m with a further £287m focused on town centres. Scotland has a population of 5m but will receive £1.5bn in funding. Focused additional funding into the area for key transport infrastructure and assistance in bringing forward currently unviable development sites is required to accelerate growth as a national priority. What opportunities for growth exist that remain untapped The East of England is home to innovators and entrepreneurs. In agriculture, technology, and life science, as well as manufacturing and green energy, the East leads the way. Cambridge has an unrivalled concentration of knowledge intensive businesses as well as institutional assets that are responsible for attracting inward investment both on a national and international stage. However, Cambridge has limited space for housing development and employment sites, and it is questionable if the city can manage the strains of accelerated growth. In addition, the area has the UK’s slowest A-road speeds causing problems for commuters. Peterborough offers a huge opportunity for both housing and economic growth. The city lies 37 minutes from Kings Cross by rail, 1hr 20 minutes from Stansted airport and is well connected by the strategic highway network, to the extent that many blue-chip companies are locating their logistics hubs on the city limits. Over 1m rail travellers are using the interchange at Peterborough, as they travel on to Leeds, Birmingham, London, Cambridge, and Edinburgh. ARU has opened a new university this year with 1,000 students commencing studies in 2022 and a trajectory of 5,000 students by 2027 and 12,000 from 2030 onwards. The city has brownfield and greenfield sites that can provide a housing pipeline in excess of 10,000 new homes and city centre sites that could provide home for a developing digital and green tech manufacturing cluster, sectors that are already organically growing in the area and that will be supported by the university’s curriculum. Government attention and focused funding in Peterborough equates to housing, growth, and jobs, it is a no brainer. 1/1 Website: Twitter: https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/ https://twitter.com/PeterboroughCC

Candy Richards < GO BACK TO ADVISORY BOARD Candy is the Development Manager for East Anglia at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), representing the region’s small and medium sized businesses and sole traders. Established in 1974, FSB is the UK’s largest member-led business group and provides a wide range of vital business services including advice, financial expertise, support, and a powerful voice heard in government. Leading FSB’s activity across East Anglia, Candy works in partnership with businesses, stakeholders, and decision makers, to deliver policy and projects to enable smaller businesses to grow and succeed. As part of the Eastern Powerhouse shadow board, Candy will ensure that the needs and ambitions of the region’s smaller businesses are at the forefront of its campaigning.

Saxon Air < GO BACK TO ALL MEMBERS 1/1 Website: Twitter: