Levelling up needs to reach the east of England too.

The eastern English coast has been a sea of blue, with a few little red islands, since 2010. It is also home to some of the biggest 

And so why has it yet to benefit in any meaningful way from Levelling Up?

In the coming weeks, Fischer Farms will open Europe’s largest vertical farm in Broadland, a suburb of Norwich. With the power to transform the way we produce food and drive down carbon emissions associated with food production, Fischer’s Farm 2 is another example of how the region is at the heart of a UK science revolution.

UEA’s new Productivity East Centre is home to a new School of Engineering which is driving research into renewable energy, harnessing the awesome power of the eastern coast for tidal and wind power. It’s not a stretch to say that the Norfolk coast could become a European centre for renewables and clean energy.

Norwich is fast becoming a centre for digital technology, helped in part by the presence of Norwich University of the Arts.

And down the road at the University of Suffolk, in the new courses in nuclear engineering are helping to develop a pipeline of talent to power the UK’s investment in nuclear energy.

But why has the east benefitted so little from Levelling Up when there is so much potential, and so many inequalities to tackle?

I live in a green and leafy part of south Norwich. We are surrounded by independent schools, large semi-detached and detached homes, a golf course and woodland. Yet just down the road is Mile Cross, a sprawling 160 plus acre housing estate where life expectancy is 10 years below the average for the rest of Norwich. Built in the 1920s under the Homes fit for Heroes scheme, it has just celebrated its centenary. Efforts are under way to dispel some of the myths about the place, which can only be a good thing. But what it deserves is investment.

Yes, the region is soon to benefit from the East-West rail link, which will link Oxford and Cambridge. But that won’t help anyone in Norfolk or Suffolk despairing of the lack of even basic bus route integration.

In the Autumn Statement it was confirmed that Suffolk would get a mayor and that discussions were progressing with Norfolk County Council for something similar, so perhaps this is our moment, perhaps with devolution will come power and a vision for our oft forgotten part of the country.  

I really hope so, because the East has so much potential and we can be part of driving a more prosperous Britain. Isn’t that what Levelling Up is about?