Issue - meetings

Review of the Economic Development Strategy

Meeting: 15/09/2020 - Economic Regeneration and Leisure Committee (Item 150)

150 Review of the Economic Development Strategy pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Regeneration and Economic Development Manager introduced the report and noted that the Interim Summary Document shown in Appendix 1 to the report was a live document and subject to change whilst the Economic Development Strategy (EDS) was under review. The document was produced following a series of virtual consultation events held over the summer with Members, Officers and Businesses.

 

The proposed public consultation process would be advertised through the Council’s social media, be made available on the Council’s website and circulated via the Economic Development Local Business Database. The Communications Team would be involved in contacting Parish Councils for their responses as part of the public consultation process.

 

Ms Lucie Bailey, the Economics Director of Lichfields Planning and Development Consultancy, provided Members with a presentation on the Interim Summary Document. Ms Bailey confirmed that the document was based on the initial findings of various consultations and was presented to the Committee to encourage discussion and feedback before a full draft EDS would be created. The development of the enabling actions that would later be presented to the Committee would focus on the first five-year period of the strategy.

 

Ms Bailey referenced the many growth opportunities within the strategic context, and the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT Analysis) which were both shown within Appendix 1 to the report. The existing EDS was adopted by the Council in 2014, with the revised EDS scheduled to have an end-year of 2037 to coincide with the new Local Plan period and encourage consistency across corporate priorities.

 

Specific attention was drawn to the overarching proposition, five principles and the enabling factors for each principle that had been drafted. It was noted that further one-to-one consultations were ongoing with stakeholders and that a draft EDS would be presented to the Committee in November 2020.

 

During the debate there was particular support for the first priority – ‘Open for Business’. In discussing the priorities, the importance of the low carbon economy and where it would fit into the strategy were questioned, alongside the importance of maintaining and encouraging skilled labour within the local economy. The link between employment and health and wellbeing and the importance of physical and technological infrastructure were highlighted.

 

The Regeneration and Economic Development Manager invited the Committee to submit further comments on the Interim Summary Document over the next two weeks, after which the one-to-one consultations would begin.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

1.  The Interim Summary Documents, shown in Appendix 2 to the report, and Strategy’s Programme moving forward, be noted;

 

2.  The proposed public consultation programme for the revision of the Economic Development Strategy, be approved; and

 

Note: Councillor Harper exited the meeting at 7.45 p.m. during consideration of this item at which time Councillor Mrs Gooch was duly elected as Chairman for the remainder of the meeting.