A CPRE survey of Local Enterprise Partnerships’ approach to the environment and rural economy.

Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are business-led partnerships between the private and public sector, designed to support and promote growth in economic areas defined by local business interests and local government, and agreed with central Government.

Great concerns have been raised about the failure of LEPs to take rural and countryside issues into account, as well as their governance, transparency, and accountability.

In order to find out more about the impact on the countryside and regeneration, CPRE branches were surveyed in February and March 2017. Twelve policy recommendations for Government and LEPs are set out, based on the survey results and the best practice examples, in areas such as governance, strategic planning, and rural and countryside policy issues.