Buckinghamshire LEP highlights Enterprise Zone collaboration potential

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Sam Pither

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Members of the Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) have identified three sites within its Enterprise Zone which it says have untapped collaborative potential.

A partnership between the public and private sectors, the Enterprise Zone aims to promote and deliver commercial development, with the LEP hoping to foster working relationships across the high-performance technology, motorsport, space, rocket propulsion, engineering, agricultural and health sectors in Buckinghamshire.

Silverstone Park, Westcott Venture Park and Arla/Woodlands have all been pointed to as complementing each other, offering potential economic growth and investment in the region.

Through its contacts in the different sectors, the LEP hopes to facilitate collaboration by bringing businesses together at networking events and exhibitions as well as specialist cluster groups, with the ultimate aim of delivering mutually beneficial growth.

Richard Harrington, CEO of the Buckinghamshire LEP, said: “We know that by making introductions and encouraging collaboration, businesses can help each other drive innovation and prosper.

“We are already seeing the benefits in key areas, for example the common ground between motorsport and the space industry which is unlocking huge potential with the cross-fertilisation of ideas and technology.”

Situated in the Silverstone Enterprise Zone, the Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC) exists to help advanced engineering, electronics and software businesses around Silverstone with promotion and growth through partnerships.

The Westcott Space Cluster, located in the Enterprise Zone of Westcott Venture Park, Cluster is home to a growing number of space-related companies innovating in rocket propulsion, 5G communications and autonomous systems.

Special interest groups have been formed across both business clusters to bring like-minded companies together to network, debate the latest developments in the industry and seek out new commercial opportunities.

Tony Forsythe, Head of Space Technology at the UK Space Agency said: “The newest collaboration has seen the Bucks LEP initiating meetings between the UK Space Agency, the STC and Silverstone-based technology organisations. A programme of activity is now in place and an official announcement was made about this partnership at the Silverstone Technology Cluster Conference last week.”

The LEP has also set up a working agreement between the Digital Manufacturing Centre (DMC) based at Silverstone Park and the Satellite Applications Catapult (SAC) which is running the In-Orbit Servicing and Manufacturing Facility (IOSM) at Westcott Venture Park within the Westcott Space Cluster, with the aim of contributing to the government’s goal of capturing 10 per cent of the global space industry.

The new partnership will work with organisations developing orbital capabilities and address key challenges for in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, such as assembly without conventional fasteners. The DMC will draw on its experience developing structures for the motorsport sector and combine it with the SAC’s deep knowledge of the IOSM to create new and optimised solutions.

Featured image: iStock

Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset. A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise. Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.