Norfolk has a chance to “shape its own destiny” as the county keeps up the fight to secure prosperity and jobs amid tough economic conditions.

At the Shaping Norfolk’s Future 2010 conference in Norwich on Friday 3^rd December, chief executive Chris Starkie said the economic outlook for 2011 was certainly better than last year – but the UK was “not out of the woods yet”.

“The coalition Government’s programme of cuts will undoubtedly hit the public sector hard. And the scrapping of the regional development agencies and creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships will give areas like Norfolk the opportunity to shape their own destinies,” he said.

“As many of you know, business and civic leaders recently submitted a proposal for a Local Enterprise Partnership for Norfolk and Suffolk called ‘New Anglia’ and we are waiting for government approval. This new partnership offers tremendous potential for us to build on the work we and other partners have undertaken so far. And it provides an opportunity to provide fresh impetus and ideas in tackling our key challenges and taking advantage of opportunities.”

Mr Starkie told industry chiefs, senior business figures and civic leaders: “Over the coming months we will remain focused on our core goal of creating jobs and wealth for people in Norfolk. You can rest assured we will continue lobbying on roads and rail. We will continue to work to bring high-speed broadband to all parts of Norfolk. And we will continue to support our key sectors, encourage enterprise and innovation.”

More than 230 people, including decision-makers from the private and public sectors, attended the annual conference of Shaping Norfolk’s Future, the county’s economic development partnership, at the Theatre Royal, Norwich.

“ Enterprise” was the theme of the event, although it also embraced key topics such as business leadership, innovation, the future of the media, green strategies and transportation.

Keynote speaker Greg Dyke, the colourful former BBC director-general, entrepreneur and TV mogul, shared his top tips on successful business leadership – as well as giving a “view from the top” on issues including the digital age’s effect on the UK’s creative industries, the banking crisis and the challenges of running football clubs.

Walter Herriot told the 2010 conference about plans to turn Norfolk’s world-class scientific know-how into successful businesses and thousands of new East Anglian jobs.

Best known for his role supporting the development of the Cambridge technology cluster, Mr Herriot is now chairman of the Norwich Research Park Enterprise from Innovation Board and wants to see hundreds of spin-out businesses and 5000 highly skilled jobs created over the coming decade.

Andrew Chivers, managing director of rail operator National Express East Anglia, told the conference that major steps forward had already been achieved in better services for rail users: but stakeholders still needed to pull together to secure longer-term improvements.

Enterprising Watton-based businesswoman Claire Martinsen talked about how she had built her Breckland Orchard drinks company from a kitchen table dream to a growing, award-winning venture.

This year Breckland Orchard won the Best New Business Award at the 2010 EDP Business Awards, a category sponsored by Shaping Norfolk’s Future.

Another guest speaker, Simon Best, explained how being cleaner and greener was helping Norfolk businesses to cut costs – and push up profits.

Mr Best manages Breckland Council’s REV ACTIVE project, which shows SMEs how resource efficiency improvements in their day-to-day operations can reduce their carbon footprint and save money.

The Shaping Norfolk’s Future 2010 conference was sponsored by PwC and Mills & Reeve. It was supported by the EDP, REV ACTIVE and Norwich Theatre Royal and compered by Peter Wilson, chairman of Shaping Norfolk’s Future Creative Industries Board and chief executive of the Theatre Royal.