Hull Central Library joins PatLib

Hull

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PatLib is a European network of some 320 patent information centres where members of the public can obtain information about patents and other intellectual property rights. There are 15 of those centres in the United Kingdom including three in Yorkshire. I write about the network in PatLib Libraries in the UK 28 Jan 2015 Inventors Club.

Hull Central Library is the latest to join the PatLib network. Its reference library holds an enormous collection of resources for business in print and on-line including an Enterprise Hub where workshops and seminars take place. The full range of services include:

• information on Intellectual Property (IP), copies of Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and European Patent Office (EPO) literature
• enquiry service
• assisted searching by appointment only
• fee based document supply
• referrals to other advice/service providers
• free public access to internet, IP information resources, business and company databases, market research databases
• patent clinics offering free appointments with IP advisrrs by appointment
• workshops and Seminars.

Information on  those services can be obtained from the reference library on (0)14 8222 3344.

These additional services have arrived at an opportune time. In her report for The Business Desk Humber LEP continues to drive growth for region of 30 Jan 2015 Ellie Newton-Syms wrote about the strong recovery of the Humber estuary based largely on investments in the energy industry. With falling oil prices this will be a challenging time even for the renewable sector and businesses will need to be agile to ride the challenge. Having access to the latest technical literature and expert advice has never been more important.

If anyone wants to discuss this article or IP generally call me on 01484 599090 or use my contact form.

Yorkshire LEPs One Year After the Armouries

James Reed's article "LEPs unite to back energy hub bid" in today's Business Desk prompts a review of the county's local enterprise partnerships one year on from the very successful Local Enterprise Partnership Summit at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on 9 Sep 2011 (see my post "LEP Summit: My Impressions of the Day as a Delegate" 10 Sep 2011). The Summit welcomed representatives from other Northern LEPs and the question of regional co-operation was touched upon although they were more than counterbalanced by inter-regional rivalries.

Reed's article mentions an example of practical regional co-operation.  The four LEP's have joined forces to back 2CO Energy and and the White Rose CCS Project that could make Yorkshire a centre for green energy production. According to Reed, the LEPs are urging the Government to help fund those projects t as a first step to creating a 'cluster' of expertise in carbon capture and storage technology.  Reid continues:

"The demise of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and the creation of local enterprise partnerships raised concerns that the new bodies would become preoccupied with local concerns and not act together.

That idea has always been rejected by the LEP chairmen and their united support for the region's pioneering CCS projects is the most high profile example of collaboration between the four bodies to date."

Yorkshire and the Humber now have four local enterprise partnerships and three of them have their own websites:

• Leeds City Region
• Sheffield City Region
• York and North Yorkshire
• Humber

Other Articles on Yorkshire LEPs
21 Oct 2010 "LEP begin to take shape"
30 Oct 2010 "Government's Strategy on Growth published at Last"
12 Jan 2011 "News of Yorkshire LEPs"
1 Feb 2011 "Leeds LEP Board Members"
21 March 2011 "New LEP for York and North Yorkshire"
12 April 2011 "Sheffield LEP: NAMTEC Questions and Answers"
9 June 2011 "Local Enterprise Partnerships: A Great Resource"

4 Sep 2011 "News of LEPs in Yorkshire and Humber No. II"

 If anyone wants to discuss this topic with me further, he or she can contact me through my contact form, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0113 320 3232 .

News of LEPs in Yorkshire and Humber No. II

I see to my horror that I have not updated this blog since 27 July 2011 though I did publish IP Yorkshire, the Yorkshire and Humber newsletter, on Yorkshire Day which falls on 1 August. A lot has happened since then.

Humber LEP

First a proposal by a consortium of local authorities and local businesses and business organizations for a local enterprise partnership for the Humber has been accepted. You can see the press release on Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce website. According to its proposal the LEP will:

"Co-ordinate public and private sector activity that is targeted at growing our three key growth sectors (renewable energy, ports and logistics, and chemicals), with the aim of developing an international-scale super cluster around the Humber.

Lead on 16-19 and adult skills strategy, particularly in relation to the key sectors listed above, to ensure that as many of the jobs created as possible can go to local people, businesses can recruit the workforces they need to expand, the aspirations of young people are raised and graduate retention is improved.

Take responsibility for the “Humber brand”, co-ordinating and promoting our offer for international trade and as a location for investment.

Lead on international trade issues to help more companies export their goods and services.

Lead on co-ordinating and identifying strategic transport and infrastructure priorities that will support economic growth.

Co-ordinate activity that supports innovation and enterprise.

Bring together partners where appropriate to bid for public and private sector contracts and funding.

Submit a bid for an Enterprise Zone in the Humber and explore any other opportunities that arise from new Government policy."

According to Lorna Gibbons, Senior Economic Development Officer at Poole Borough Council who keeps the superb Economic Development blog, the contact for the Humber LEP is Mr. Richard Kendall Tel 01484 324 976 Email r.kendall@hull-humber-chamber.co.uk (see "Everything you need to know about each LEP ..... contact and priorities (where available)"). I have also found a website for the LEP at http://humberlep.org/. Their postal address is 34/38 Beverley Road, Hull, HU3 1YE and their twitter feed is @humberlep.

Enterprise Zones

The last of the bullet points on the Humber LEP's to do list was to submit a bid for an enterprise zone in the Humber and that seems to have been approved within a week of being submitted (see the press release of 17 Aug 2011 on the chamber website and the announcement on the LEP site). The site will cover 375 hectares on 3 sites: Green Port (Alexandra Dock) and Queen Elizabeth Dock in Hull and the Able Marine Energy Park in North Lincolnshire. The sector focus will be on offshore wind OEM and it is hoped to generate 4,850 jobs in the zone by 2015. There will be £7.9 million is business rates savings.

There will also be enterprise zones in Leeds (142 hectares in the Lower Aire Valley) where it is hoped to 4,000 new jobs in low carbon industries and modern manufacturing (see "Leeds Enterprise Zone: Full Details" in Real Business) and Sheffield in the "Modern Manufacturing and Technology Growth Area" where it is hoped to create 12,600 jobs (see "Sheffield Enterprise Zone: Full Details" in Real Business).

For updates see Lorna's post "Enterprise Zones Update" of 15 Aug 2011 and the Communities Department's LEP and enterprise zones map.

Leeds LEP Summit

Leeds LEP will hold a one day summit to shape the Leeds City Region economy at the Royal Armouries on 9 Sept 2011. I have registered the course and will blog about it next week. The programme looks very interesting.

Other Articles

21 Oct 2010 "LEP begin to take shape"

30 Oct 2010 "Government's Strategy on Growth published at Last"

12 Jan 2011 "News of Yorkshire LEPs"

1 Feb 2011 "Leeds LEP Board Members"

21 March 2011 "New LEP for York and North Yorkshire"

12 April 2011 "Sheffield LEP: NAMTEC Questions and Answers"

9 June 2011 "Local Enterprise Partnerships: A Great Resource"