A SOLENT based partnership between councils and business to boost the economy is one of just 24 in the UK to win Government backing today.

Covering a population of more than 1.3 million people and some 50,000 businesses, the Solent area Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is intended to generate private and public investment.

The Solent LEP covers the M27 corridor between Southampton and Portsmouth as well as the Isle of Wight.

LEPs are the government’s alternative to regional development agencies such as SEEDA, which are being axed.

For full story and reaction see Friday’s Daily Echo