The Government has announced that all Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), including SEEDA, will close by 31 March 2012.
Responsibility for economic development and regeneration in England is being passed onto successor bodies, including Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and central Government departments
Our objective is to ensure a professional and cost effective closure by this date. We have pledged to work closely with our partners, contractors and stakeholders to ensure that the past and future economic benefits of key programmes and assets continue to deliver the greatest economic value for the South East and value for money for the taxpayer.
Please click here for more details about our closure plan, transition arrangements and successor organisations.
Les Dawson OBE
Following graduation from Brunel University in 1980, Les spent 20 years in various management positions with British Gas and latterly Transco. Les was an author of the Network Code before moving into IT where he delivered the systems that enabled competition for the 19 million UK domestic customers.
In November 2000 he joined United Utilities as an Executive Director with responsibilities for the regulated assets of what was both North West Water and Norweb.
In July 2005 Les was appointed CEO of Southern Water, the largest supplier of water and wastewater services in the South of England.
Les is a Fellow of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Managers and a Member of the Institute of Engineering & Technology. He is a past President of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
In the 2009 New Years Honours List, Les was awarded an OBE in recognition of his services to the energy and water industries, as well as his extensive charity work for Wateraid.
