Speaking following the East of England Development Conference, the East of England Local Government Association Chair and Leader of Suffolk County Council, Matthew Hicks, said:
“Our region is one of great strength, keen on collaboration and working together to overcome shared challenges. I hold great pride in the East of England and the unique opportunities we can create.
“As we are the UK’s international gateway, consisting of the largest concentration of ports and airports, we have the ability to enable the area to flourish. We are leading the way for sustainable energy. Our All Energy Coast plays host to vast windfarms, nuclear power, hydrogen potential and solar farms. So not only is it truly beautiful, it is the right step in becoming more sustainable, and must be developed further in the UK to meet climate ambitions.
“While our regions boasts great strength and opportunity around energy, we have much more to offer. The East of England is home to other magnificent clusters of industry. From life science facilities, to talented clusters in the digital, aerospace, creative and agri-tech areas.
“There is much to be proud about, but there is also much work to do for us as leaders to use our assets and knowledge to facilitate, broker and convene to help our region thrive.”