Lincolnshire County Council is betting on the defence, agricultural and manufacturing sectors as it lays out ambitious investment plans. A total of £20m would be spent over the next five years to attract businesses in the hope of creating 3,000 well-paid new jobs, a council report reveals.
This could include a large purpose-built facility for defence contractors, a regional hub for advanced manufacturing in Grantham, and an expansion of the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone. The report also recommends nine areas across the county which could provide industrial space for smaller businesses.
If approved by the council’s executive, the grand investment strategy would begin in spring 2025 and run until 2030. The report found that a lack of available industrial space is stopping businesses from moving to the county, requiring public investment.
It envisions a specialist 15,000 sq ft facility for Lincolnshire’s growing defence and security industry, which could either be delivered by the council alone or with a partner. The next phase of the Holbeach FEZ in South Holland is being viewed as the best option for stimulating the agricultural sector.
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
The report also recommends a new facility which could become the “go-to place” for advanced manufacturing across the region, including a miniature factory to showcase innovations. Grantham has been recommended as the location over Lincoln, enabling it to reach large parts of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Cambridgeshire.
The council is currently looking into whether it would be built and run independently or with a third party. The investment plan also highlights nine harder-to-reach areas of Lincolnshire where there aren’t enough business spaces to meet demand.
The listed locations are in Market Rasen, Caistor, Sleaford, Gonerby Moor, Bourne, Coningsby, Horncastle, Louth and Spilsby. It also proposes smaller industrial units in Sleaford, Grantham and Stamford, with the latter two also having new business-friendly office space.
The report says the £20m investment will “notably raise our profile as a location for high quality employment and jobs; attract other businesses to locate close to these industrial clusters; and provide aspirational career paths for young people”. It warns that failure to invest will mean fewer businesses and jobs will come to Lincolnshire.
The council is also expected to make money on its initial £20m investment from sales and rent of the premises. The investment strategy will go before the council’s Environment & Economy Scrutiny Panel next week (Tuesday, November 26).
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