Chairman of prominent Cambridgeshire enterprise partnership announces he is to stand down

Mark Reeve, chairman of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) board, has announced he is to stand down after more than four years' service.

He will officially stand down on December 19 at the next meeting of the LEP.

His announcement comes just days after the LEP announced it had appointed Martin Whiteley, the chief executive of the new Combined Authority, as its interim chief executive. Mr Whiteley will carry out both roles.

Mr Reeve, who is also chairman at Chalcroft Holdings Ltd, in King's Lynn, said: "It has been my utmost privilege to have been part of the LEP since its inception and to have had the privilege to Chair.

"We have made significant progress in six short years and now have an embedded presence in the local economic growth agenda that is making a tangible, positive impact on the local economy.

"It has been a pleasure to work with the LEP team, my fellow Board Members and our wider partnership group over the last six years."A LEP spokesperson said the LEP board will consider the future position of chair at its next meeting.

Mr Reeve's announcement comes at an uncertain time for future of the LEP, which was created to give business a voice in the development of the local economy.

Just weeks ago, the Combined Authority Mayor James Palmer called for the LEP to be brought under the wing of the authority.

His call came in the wake of the government freezing future funding of £37.2 million until a national review of the LEP was completed.

That prompted LEP board member John Bridge to claim that politicians had “engineered” a situation in which vital funding for the LEP had been frozen by government.

The LEP now has to consider how it wants to fill its top two jobs.

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