Decision details

The B&NES Sustainable Community Strategy identifies the key role that a thriving and resilient economy will play in achieving sustainable growth in B&NES.  The Economic Strategy identifies the key barriers to growth as the lack of available employment land and modern business space, the perception that Bath is not seen as a ‘regional’ office location and the record of slow and under delivery of new office space to date. 

The Economic Regeneration Delivery Plans (ERDPs) set out a framework for delivering one strand of the Economic Strategy within the context of the Council’s ambitions to create a more sustainable, productive and resilient economy and support the level of economic growth required to deliver the numbers of new jobs and homes set out in the draft Core Strategy.  The ERDPs describe potential sites and outline a series of actions that the Council will take to encourage the development of business premises.  They reaffirm to business leaders and developers that ‘B&NES is open for business’.

The Cabinet Members agree that

o  The documents formerly referred to as Regeneration Delivery Plans should from now be referred to as Economic Regeneration Delivery Plans

o  The ERDPs be approved as the basis for corporate action to achieve high value added business growth;

o  The ERDPs be used corporately to promote and market B&NES as a business destination.

o  The ERDPs be approved as the basis for assessing the contribution of sites to the delivery of the aims of the Economic Strategy;

o  The Strategic Director for Development and Major Projects is instructed to work with other Council departments to develop an Action Plan to deliver the infrastructure identified in the Local Investment Plan (para. 3.4) B&NES Infrastructure Delivery Programme and ERDPs .

o  The ERDPs be used to inform the Local Development Framework and the Place Making Plan (para. 5.1.5.)

o  The ERDPs will be reviewed after a year to ensure they are focussed on the most important issues faced by the district at that time.

The Economic Recovery Delivery Plans take forward the actions in one strand of the Economic Strategy and define how the objectives of the Vision for B&NES as further articulated in Treasure and Transform can be taken forward.

There is, we believe, strong demand for high quality office and workspace in Bath from current and prospective local employers.  This includes particular interest by the knowledge and creative industries as well as by the professional services sector. In Keynsham and Midsomer Norton there is support for creating additional local employment by bringing forward new business locations and strengthening the market town centres.

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