East's growing economy must benefit locals - MP

Communities in the East of England must see the benefit of major infrastructure projects taking place in the region, an MP has said.

Jess Asato, Labour MP for Lowestoft, was speaking at an event aimed at building relationships to help drive growth and work out how to develop the necessary skills for projects such as the Sizewell C nuclear power station.

The East of England's economy is set to be worth £220bn by 2035, according to the Local Government Association and partners.

"The East is hosting a lot of nationally significant infrastructure projects so it's really important that our communities see the benefit of those," said Ms Asato.

"We know the East of England gives back to the Treasury in a net way, but it doesn't always get the investment that it needs.

"So we've been discussing things like 'How we get our transport investment and infrastructure up? How do we decarbonize?'"

More than 120 people from public and private bodies in the region came together for the infrastructure and growth conference on Thursday at Anglia Ruskin University's Peterborough campus.

It celebrated successes including Europe's largest medical research and health science centre in Cambridge; world leading food and plant research in Norfolk; BT's global research and development HQ in Ipswich; and Airbus's space and defence HQ in Stevenage.

Other sessions looked at the challenges arising when big projects were pushed through the planning system.

Water scarcity and climate change also featured, after a report in July 2024 said the East of England was "the region most affected by climate change".

On a positive note, the Opportunity East report said the area was "one of the fastest growing and most productive regions" in the UK.

However, the region received £1,000 less per capita than the UK average, an annual gap of £8bn.

This event is heading to Westminster in September to try to lobby the government to invest more money in the region.

Anglian Water's Mark Malcolm said the event was a "fantastic opportunity" for local authorities and businesses to share ideas about managing infrastructure and working towards net zero carbon.

"You're seeing some big projects; some very large pipelines that are being built in the area," he said.

"Improvements are needed to manage population growth in our region and protect it for future generations."

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