Sustainable Economic growth placed at the heart of Mid Sussex's future

A combined sustainability and economic growth strategy lies at centre of one the UK's most exciting regeneration projects, creating an innovative community culture in the heart of Sussex which aims to combine quality of life with knowledge-intensive economic growth.

Mid Sussex District Council's 'trail-blazing' combined Sustainable Economy Strategy is underpinning all the council's business, growth, planning, community and net zero initiatives, ensuring that long-term outcomes will benefit both the planet and generate homes, jobs and a good quality of life for its residents.

Speaking at the launch of the local authority's Opportunity Mid Sussex project and Sustainable Economy Strategy, Cllr Stephen Hillier, cabinet member for the Mid Sussex Economy & Net Zero said: "We have been a national trailblazer with our merged Economy and Sustainable strategy. We recognise that economic growth and moving towards net zero are not mutually exclusive and we are keen to support local businesses on their path to net zero, ensuring Mid Sussex remains a great place to live and run a business, safeguarding it for future generations. It's just the right thing to do for our planet."

The authority's current Growth Programme is already well underway, installing pioneering gigabit fibre digital connectivity alongside the development 5,000 homes as part of a new community with schools, neighbourhood centres, employment space and sustainable travel options.

Cllr Hillier told guests attending the event held at Edwards Vacuum in Burgess Hill about the local authority's future ambitions with its Opportunity Mid Sussex programme, including the next stage of its fibre connectivity project, the authority's partnerships with its local Sussex and Brighton universities and a 49-hectare Science and Technology Park which will enable the region to maximise the opportunities presented by its existing clusters of life sciences, MedTech, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and creative industries.

"The gigabit fibre spine connecting us globally from Brighton to Croydon is complete and we are now extending that to rural areas," he said.

"From next year we will have digital connectivity that is unparalleled outside major cities, making us highly attractive to companies wanting to be early adopters of the benefits of 5G technology.

"We have a strong relationship with our universities and work hard to leverage their expertise from their research success to their business support. The Science and Tech Park is one of most exciting things to come our way and will put us on the map as a regional centre of excellence."

Dr Sue Baxter, Director of Innovation & Business Partnerships at the University of Sussex talked about the partnership working ethos at Mid Sussex, and explained the work the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton had been doing to create an Innovation Ecosystem and the importance of collaboration, expertise and specialist facilities to continue the drive for economic growth:

"There is clearly a link between the knowledge-intensive industries and the high skills profile of Mid Sussex and together we can build a really good, accelerated growth platform," she told delegates.

"We are currently putting together a team to share our world leading research and together with our business incubator 'Sussex Innovations' are reaching out to local companies to offer a seamless service which spans from high end innovation and specialist dedicated support right through to mainstream everyday business services to the companies around us."

Professor Winfried Hensinger, co-founder of Universal Quantum, announced that the company, a spin-out from the University of Sussex which chose to locate in Haywards Heath, Mid Sussex thanks to its vibrant community and first-rate transport links, had just won the largest government quantum computing contract ever awarded to a single company to build two quantum computers for the German Space Agency, as part of a computing initiative founded by the German government.

He said the company was honoured to have been chosen for the contract following a very long due diligence process, certifying the world leading nature of the technology which was developed here in the region.

"This is just the start. We are working very, very hard with UK government to bring this tech advantage into region as we want to grow the UK's 'quantum Silicon Valley' here in Mid Sussex."

The region's business sustainability credentials were supported by Samantha Oliver, organisational systems and administration director of the Adelphi Group of Companies who talked about their eco-friendly production facility The Friary with solar panels and rainwater harvesting and Peter Lamb, senior manager of scientific pump technology and site leader at hosts Edwards Vacuum, who emphasised the high-tech, knowledge-intensive profile of the region, explaining that his company's vacuum technology was now being used in everything from Universal Quantum's computers to flat panel TVs, solar panels and exhaust management systems.

"We have science-based targets for our contribution to sustainability and have signed up as a company to achieving a 46% reduction in our operating footprint by 2030," said Peter.

He told guests that Edwards was changing the whole way it worked to achieve its sustainability targets, from new technology to on-site changes to support the company and its staff reduce their carbon footprint to changing its products' operating systems to enable clients to use them more efficiently to reduce their carbon impact.

The event was attended by Mims Davies MP who said she saw the opportunities for Mid Sussex as it took its place at the forefront of UK growth.

"I am very excited to be here, as it is important Mid Sussex keeps a voice at the highest level for the work it is doing to develop a sustainable economy. Our local authority is doing everything it can to keep this area special and make us proud to live and work here. Growing a sustainable economy is the best thing we can offer for our businesses, our communities and the generations that are to come."

Council leader Cllr Jonathan Ash-Edwards concluded the successful event, which was attended by more than 100 guests, by saying the authority's ambition for Mid Sussex was 'straightforward'.

"We are positive about what we have ahead for our communities and economy. We are an unashamedly pro-business, pro-enterprise, pro-growth council so will always want to work in partnership with others to help deliver for our local economy to create jobs and prosperity.

"We will make sure economic prospects come alongside growth and sustainability for our communities; we will have the right policies in place to support growth and have an economic team in council that is open and does everything possible to provide support and be as proactive as possible."