MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
Economic and Commercial Development Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Tuesday 27 August 2013
REPORT OF Director of Regeneration and Communities
Report prepared by Zena Cooke
1. Economic Development
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 To give initial consideration to the priorities and focus of the Economic Development team, with further reports on the work relating to skills and employability and the final draft of the REDP presented at a future committee meeting.
1.2 Recommendation
1.2.1
It
is recommended that the Committee:
a) Notes the
report;
b) Receives
a further report on the final draft of the Regeneration and Economic
Development Plan (REDP);
c) Gives feedback on the final draft REDP.
1.3 Reasons for Recommendation
1.3.1 Economic prosperity is the councils overarching priority and Economic Development has been identified as the only council service in which growth and investment would be considered.
1.3.1
The
Councils Strategic Plan states that its number one priority is for Maidstone
to have a Growing Economy. Whilst this is a corporate objective, and as such,
all services share in delivering the outcomes, the non-regulatory focus for
this work is the Economic Development Team in the Regeneration and Communities
Directorate.
1.3.2
The
specific outcomes relating to Economic Development set out in the Strategic
Plan to be delivered by 2015 are:
·
a
transport network that supports the local economy with a focus on the delivery
of an integrated transport strategy in conjunction with Kent County Council and
other stakeholders;
· a growing economy with rising employment, catering for a range of skill sets to meet the demands of the local economy, with a focus on the following areas:
- creating the right planning environment;
- developing key infrastructure;
- business expansion;
- inward investment;
- developing stronger business relationships;
- tackling worklessness.
1.3.3
In
late 2012, Shared Intelligence was commissioned to produce a Regeneration and
Economic Development Plan (REDP) for the borough to update the Councils
Economic Development Strategy that had been adopted in 2008. The purpose of
the document is to address some of the new economic challenges facing the
borough and consolidate the 2008 Economic Development Strategy (EDS), the
Councils Regeneration Statement, and the draft Tourism Strategy.
1.3.4 The REDP work identifies the main challenges as:
· a need for more export oriented businesses;
· responding to the challenge of jobs lost during the recession;
· dealing with public sector restructuring;
· increasing the rate of enterprise formation;
· addressing youth unemployment;
· building on rises in economic activity; and
· addressing persistent pockets of deprivation.
1.3.5
The
long-term economic vision and core principles for Maidstones economic
development remain broadly in line with the 2008 Strategy. However, the timing
and means by which they can be achieved have changed. The REDP is intended to
focus on the Councils programme of activities and actions for the next five
years and seeks to address new challenges presented by the recession to enable
the Council to achieve its vision and objectives.
1.3.6
Within
this context and in order to respond to the economic challenges facing the
Borough, the Economic Development Team is being refocused (particularly with
regard to marketing the Borough as the location of choice for businesses) and
to have sufficient capacity to deliver the Economic Development Strategy and
Regeneration and Economic Development Plan (REDP).
1.3.7
There
are significant risks to Maidstones future wellbeing which the REDP work highlights
including:
· no net private sector jobs growth since 2003;
· high dependency levels on public sector jobs with over 2000 job loses predicted by 2015;
· lowest level of business birth rates in Kent;
· falling employment rates;
· Rising unemployment;
·
Unattracted
developments.
1.3.8
The
revised team structure is intended to help to mitigate these risks as far as is
possible, through opportunities including the Enterprise Hub, enhanced levels
of business start-up support, new employment and allocations, new marketing and
promotion media, encouraging recruitment and work experience opportunities.
1.3.9
The
Council has recognised the importance of skills and employability with key
pieces of work being developed and delivered as part of the economic prosperity
agenda.
1.3.10
Ongoing
projects include twice-yearly Jobs Fairs; a work experience scheme at the
Council that since November 2012 has placed 23 young people; a mentoring scheme
that helps young people identify their options and supports them with interview
practice and job applications; and a website is being developed to enable
people looking for training to improve their prospects to find suitable
opportunities.
1.3.11
Maidstone
Borough Council has focused on tackling youth unemployment which is
particularly high in the borough. 4.9% of the 18-24 age group are claiming
Jobseekers Allowance compared to 2.2% of the 25-49 year old and 1.3% of the
50-64 year old populations respectively.
1.3.12
Moving
forward the focus is to involve more local businesses in tackling youth
unemployment, particularly in providing careers talks in schools and offering
work experience placements; raising the profile of these businesses getting
involved; provide accreditation for those undertaking work experience at the
council; and addressing the barriers to employment such as transport and child
care.
1.3.13 The work undertaken to produce the REDP has been aligned with the timetable for the production of the Local Plan to ensure there is a coherent and consistent approach to delivering the Councils strategic objectives. As the timetable for the Local Plan has changed the final draft of the REDP will now be completed by December 2013 and it is proposed that this be presented to the Committee for their consideration. The work relating to skills and employability is not directly impacted by the Local Plan timetable and is therefore being progressed. A more detailed presentation on this element of the teams work could be presented at an earlier Committee meeting.
1.4 Impact on Corporate Objectives
1.4.1
The
Councils Strategic Plan states that its number one priority is for Maidstone
to have a Growing Economy. The work of the Economic Development team is
focused on delivering actions that will achieve this objective.
1.4.2 Background
Documents
None
IS THIS A KEY DECISION REPORT? THIS BOX MUST BE COMPLETED
XxX
If yes, this is a Key Decision because: ..
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Wards/Parishes affected: ..
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