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 council’s 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 Council’s 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 Council’s 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 Council’s 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 Maidstone’s 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 Council’s 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 Maidstone’s 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 Council’s 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 team’s work could be presented at an earlier Committee meeting.

1.4                 Impact on Corporate Objectives

1.4.1            The Council’s 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   Yes                                               No     If yes, this is a Key Decision because: ……………………………………………………………..   …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….     Wards/Parishes affected: …………………………………………………………………………………..   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..