Agenda item

The Economic Strategy offers a new approach combining challenges and actions across six pillars of Good Work, Inclusive Innovation and Creativity, Greener Economy, Resilient Businesses, Housing Affordability and Stronger Places.  The Cabinet is asked to approve the Economic Strategy and to sign off the partnership approach to its implementation and delivery.

Cllr Paul Roper introduced the report, moved the officer recommendation, and made the following statement:

“We have before cabinet an ambitious new Economic Strategy which, with your support, will enable us to strengthen and diversify our local economy over the next ten years. 

I feel privileged to propose the recommendations in this paper.

Despite the harsh funding restraints placed on us by central government, our administration is taking matters into its own hands to develop our local economy and communities by launching this strategy.

With this strategy, our administration is setting out our stall with a far-reaching plan to Build a Fair, Green, Creative and Connected Bath with North East Somerset.

We have worked closely with our key stakeholders over the last 18 months to shape our shared vision for our local area. We are all singing from the same hymn sheet. Together we recognise that we all have a stake in ensuring that our economy and our communities thrive.

The Economic Strategy spans the decade to 2034 and contains six pillars:

·  Creating a Greener Economy that is Net Zero and Nature positive

·  Supporting our residents to access Good Work

·  Establishing B&NES as a centre of Inclusive innovation and creativity

·  Creating Resilient Businesses by building a diverse, creative and sustainable base

·  Addressing Housing Affordability and ensuring residents have access to high quality homes

·  Supporting Stronger Places, building resilience and sharing prosperity more fairly

The strategy further outlines a 10-point Delivery Plan, some of which we are already delivering, for example Bath Quays and the wider Milsom Quarter Masterplan, which will be a flagship for sustainable development.

Why is this strategy so important?

It is the platform from which we can move to a fairer, sustainable and thriving future for our local area.

It forms an integral part of our larger plan. It is the blueprint we need to demonstrate that our vision is robust. The Economic Strategy opens the doors for our local authority to attract the vital funding – both private and public – that is essential to enable us to implement our plans.

There is a time-honoured saying in the business world: failing to plan is planning to fail. Now that we have the strategy and the delivery plan, we can start working on the implementation – bringing it to life.

In our local authority, we are very fortunate to have valuable Council assets like the Roman Baths. We are blessed with two outstanding universities, the Royal United Hospital, a double World Heritage classification, historic market towns, and significant businesses all in a wonderful, unique setting. For the most part, our residents are highly qualified, and unemployment is relatively low.

But not everyone in Bath and North East Somerset is sharing in our overall prosperity.

Economic growth in our area over the last ten years has been sluggish. Wages here are below the national average. Many residents are struggling with rising housing costs.

Inequalities in health and employment are growing, creating a two-tier economy.

I would like to draw particular attention to gaps in educational attainment in our area. Education is fundamental to improving young people’s life chances. Unless we act, we risk consigning generations of young people to futures in which their opportunities are reduced. Cllr May will shortly be addressing this point.

Some of our residents, then, are being left behind. We cannot allow this cycle to continue.

Overshadowing everything is the climate emergency which is at the forefront of our administration’s attention. Our council declared a climate emergency in 2019. We are serious about our commitment to sustainability. We must reach our carbon objectives of net zero. We are acutely aware that we must respond to the climate emergency and do so now. Our climate emergency goals are woven into this strategy.

I would like to thank everyone involved in the development of this and particularly our Future Ambition Board partners, who are our key stakeholders and who have worked so hard to develop this ground-breaking strategy. It is the fundamental pre-requisite to a fairer, sustainable and thriving future for our local area.”

Cllr Manda Rigby seconded the motion and made the following statement:

“The council has many responsibilities, and touches people's lives in different ways at different times. Three strands which are more or less continuous through all the middle years are where people live, where they work, and how they get between the two.

We have heard a lot recently about the councils plans for housing, and we are working very hard on future transport plans, so to add to the right homes in the right places, and enabling choice on transport, we now have in front of us an economic strategy to agree and to implement.

Bath and North East Somerset is a rich and varied landscape with historical and present links to many industries. This economic strategy balances our legacy, whilst being very forward looking, and future proofing against changing trends. As an example, the lockdown periods showed us that we had a reliance on tourists and students within the City of Bath. Absolutely we need to ensure our offer to visitors and those who choose to make Bath their home whilst studying is sustainable, appropriate and flexible to changing needs.

But we also need to ensure we also have other compelling offers and focus on other areas within the authority so that there are employment opportunities near where people live, and there are affordable housing solutions near to where the jobs are, and to minimise unnecessary travel between the two.

I welcome this strategy in front of us, as it sets out a roadmap for our economic future. Even having this plan adopted would be a good step forward. A good friend sent me a link to an article published over the weekend about the Horizon scheme, something we used to enjoy free and unfettered access to in the good old PB, pre-Brexit days, which it looks like we might be able to access again in the future. The key word here is might. The council will never have the sort of money to invest in everything needed to drive the economy, our job is to make us an attractive a place as possible to do business, ensure we focus on sustainability, stand in and correct any market failures and, if by having this policy in front of us this evening, it makes it easier for businesses to apply for grant funding, that in and of itself has to be a good thing.

I am in no doubt that Paul and his officers have worked incredibly hard on this document and are to be very highly commended, and I am very happy to second it.”

Cllr Paul May welcomed the strategy and stated that children are an essential part of our future economic drive.  He noted that the report highlights the issue that whilst we have one of the most highly performing local education authority areas in the country this creates a significant issue of the size of attainment gap for a small proportion of our children. It was important to think about our strengths within our economy to address this group of students including practical work experience, apprenticeships and working with families.

He hoped that the strategy addressing this inequality means that the Council and its partners’ strengths would be used to engage effectively moving forward as a key issue within the delivery plans.

Cllr Sarah Warren stated that the council declared a climate emergency in March 2019 committing it to provide the leadership to enable the district to reach carbon neutrality, followed by an ecological emergency declaration in 2020. The package of measures we are bringing forward this evening shows how we are embedding Net Zero, Nature Positive systemically throughout our work as a Council. This agenda builds upon our Corporate Strategy embedding sustainability into all Council decision making.

She noted that the new Economic Strategy delivers on that, it is designed using the principle of doughnut economics, which aim to meet the needs of all within the means of the planet.  This approach would be embedded with our partners across the district and would inform delivery across council services.  The new Economic Strategy has sustainability at its heart.  As success measures it focused partly on household disposable income, a measure of how the economy is working for people, as well as on carbon emissions, air quality and biodiversity.

She stated that the Strategy also sets out specific action for a greener economy including the investigation of Green Bonds, green skills development, training and apprenticeships, local green jobs and supporting businesses who want to become “net zero, nature positive” in their operations.  It will promote Bath with North East Somerset as a testbed for the development of novel green technologies across transport, energy and the built environment.  The Council will continue to support real choice in transport, will explore nature-based solutions to increase biodiversity and to encourage sustainable tourism and will develop a local food strategy and support the adoption of regenerative farming whilst providing support to rural businesses with diversification.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

(1)  To approve the Economic Strategy.

(2)  To sign off the partnership approach to implementation and delivery of the economic strategy.