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Newport cross-business and local authority group, the Newport
Economic Network. As with Belfast, the college is investing in the
regeneration of the city of Newport, for example building a new
campus in the town centre. The college is now included in the
Newport development plan as the council works with the college,
its officers and politicians, recognising its value to the city and
the region.
The East Coast College supports a region similarly susceptible
to parochialism, with a tendency towards nostalgia for the
return to a more prosperous past. This was founded on both
the traditional maritime and fishing industries, and in recent
times, in the off-shore gas industry. This latter is now in its
decommissioning phase, but is being replaced, in part, by a
substantial offshore wind farm development. The two towns of
Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, which the college serves, have
differing histories and parochial tendencies, each with a borough
authority. At present, politically there is a 'rainbow coalition'
with a swing in Labour supporters towards UKIP. Stuart Rimmer,
CEO and Principal,15 knows the local councillors well and often
finds himself playing honest broker, when the political and civic
leaders of the two towns are in disagreement. He sits on the
skills board of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
and gives it his support. Surprisingly, and disappointingly, he
thinks that the LEP discussions as to the purpose of education
and its role in regeneration have been under-developed due the
lack of recognition of the role of social inclusion in maintaining
a balanced society and sustaining its economic viability. Social
inclusion is a developed strength of the college, and Rimmer
feels that this is not sufficiently recognised locally and that the
voice of the college, expressed through his leadership, is heard
despite the fact that LEP members tend to be more interested
in the more distant regional centres of Ipswich and Norwich.
He also sits on the Chamber of Commerce. Because the college
is able to attract funding, it has gained local and regional clout
- 'people answer the 'phone', he says. The college has been
15 Interview, 19 February 2019