Agenda item

As part of promoting a co-ordinated approach to local services, the Public Services Board is supporting the closer integration of key strategies to deliver sustainable communities. Key among these are:

·  Health & Wellbeing

·  Environmental Sustainability

·  Economic

In 2010 B&NES Council approved its first Economic Strategy, developed in conjunction with the B&NES Sustainable Growth Alliance (now called the B&NES Economic Partnership). The Strategy contains a number of strategic priorities and detailed actions and a commitment to review and refresh the document after a period of three years in 2013.

The Council has now commenced work on the refresh. The refresh provides an opportunity to take into account major changes in the economy over the past 3 years and the way public and private sector services are now provided. Our aim is to broaden the scope of the Strategy to reflect these changes and in particular actions that deliver wellbeing and reduce inequalities as well as growth in key employment sectors.

The Panel is asked to:

1)  Note the work being undertaken on the Economic Strategy and provide comment and feedback on the scope of the review.

2)  Identify any strategic issues which should be considered for inclusion and/or require further investigation / development as part of the review or where stronger links could be made to other strategic plans.

The Chairman invited David Redgewell to address the Panel with his statement.  The Chairman also acknowledged that the Panel received background information from David Redgewell on this subject.

David Redgewell said that B&NES Economic Strategy had to be a part of the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Economic Strategy.  David Redgewell also said that some areas in North East Somerset might feel isolated from the central economic development in Bath.  Transportation should be an integral part of every Economic Strategy in the area.

The Chairman invited John Wilkinson (Divisional Director Community Regeneration) to give a presentation to the Panel.

The following points were highlighted in the presentation:

·  Context for the Review

·  Public Services Board : The Vision for B&NES

·  Already renowned as one of the most desirable places in the country, though not always

·  How do we compare with other areas?

·  Beautifully inventive… for all: An affordability metric?

·  What do we need to do?

·  Economic Strategy review

·  Purpose of the review

·  Key objectives – overall

·  Measures of success – by 2026

·  Measures of success – Progress 2013

·  Health & Wellbeing Strategy Theme

·  Draft Core Strategy

o  Housing and jobs

o  The Strategy – Map of the region

·  Economic forecast

·  Vision

·  Timetable

A full copy of the presentation is attached to these minutes.

Members of the Panel debated the presentation and the report from John Wilkinson and made the following recommendations, to be considered in the Economic Strategy:

Graduate retention – the Strategy should strongly focus on the retention of post-graduates.

Employment in North East Somerset – the Strategy should focus on an increase in employment in North East Somerset area. 

Ex Ministry of Defence sites – the Strategy should address that those sites must retain some employment use, rather than becoming solely residential areas.

Minimise the closure of businesses in the area - the Council should be looking of having a dialogue with businesses in the area, in particular what were their needs for accommodation, locality, employment space, and similar.

Housing and employment delivery – the Strategy should strongly focus on the adequate housing delivery, and those developers who were planning to build houses also deliver jobs they have been promising in their planning applications.  The Strategy should also comprise what actions would be taken to achieve job predictions.

More about the sustainability – in particularly as part of the health and wellbeing aspect of the Strategy.

Low-carbon – the Strategy should provide a vision of business and employment opportunities within the low-carbon industry.

Planning process – the Strategy should be important part of the planning process, and vice versa.

Work with two universities in Bath – the Panel felt that both universities should be mentioned in the Strategy, in particular economic activity within universities.

Arts and Culture – the Strategy should give arts and culture a bit more prominent place.

Rural skills – the Strategy should champion rural skills, such as farming thatching, etc.

Small businesses – the Strategy should focus on helping small businesses in the area.

At this point of the meeting the Panel paid a tribute to Angela Ladd, who was the driving force behind the small business community.  Angela Ladd died recently following a long battle with cancer.

It was RESOLVED to:

1)  Request from officers to consider recommendations from the Panel; and

2)  Receive the Economic Strategy report from March 2014 meeting.