Agenda item

Purpose: To introduce the final Economic Development Strategy and Economic Development Delivery Plan.

Resolved that the Economic Development Strategy and the Economic Development Strategy Delivery Plan be approved.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 7 May 2020, then it will be implemented.

The Executive considered the Economic Development Strategy (EDS) and Economic Development Delivery Plan (EDSDP) (Agenda Item 11). The new EDS would run until 2023 and it aligned with the Council’s strategic commitment to promote economic development.

Councillor Hilary Cole introduced the report. She explained that the EDS would replace the previous version that ended in 2018.

An Economic Development Board was established in late 2018 to consider how best to take this work forward. A number of service areas were involved and they helped to draft material for each of the different chapters.

Progress had also been made by the Economic Development Manager who promoted the approach to economic development at a number of engagement events which included Parish and Town Council meetings, as well as attending stakeholder and network meetings of the Newbury West Berkshire Economic Development Company.

A six week period of consultation was held in July 2019 and consultation comments had been incorporated in to the EDS.

The EDS and EDSDP would have been presented to the Executive in December 2019 but this was prevented by the purdah period and since that time much effort had gone to supporting businesses in response to Covid-19.

Councillor Cole was aware of concerns that the Council was looking to adopt the EDS at such a challenging time for the economy. While she understood these concerns, the EDS would provide a firm foundation upon which to work with partners which included the Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) who would be leading work on economic recovery.

Councillor Cole added that West Berkshire was better placed than many other areas. The local economy was in a strong position pre Covid-19. Many West Berkshire businesses and were able to work remotely as was the Council.

The commitment to deliver the EDS and continue to support businesses was evidenced by the strengthening of the Economic Development Service. The Economic Development Officer had been promoted to the Manager role and additional staff would be recruited to maintain the level of support to businesses in West Berkshire. Councillor Cole added that the EDS could be adapted to suit emerging needs.

Councillor Cole concluded her introduction by thanking officers in Finance for their work in helping to assist businesses, i.e. through processing Business Rate relief requests and in processing grant applications from businesses.

Councillor Ross Mackinnon gave his support to the recommendation. He took the opportunity to provide an update to Members on the processing of grant applications. To date, 1,991 claim forms had been received and 1,543 had been processed. The time taken between the receipt of the grant form and the payment to businesses was three days. £19m had been paid to businesses so far from the Government grant which totalled £29m. Finally, Councillor Mackinnon explained that the average grant paid out to businesses was £12.3k when the total amount available per grant was £25k. This showed that on average, a greater proportion of smaller businesses were claiming the grant.

Councillor Jeff Brooks noted that in present circumstances, there would be changes to the economy in the years to come, but these changes were uncertain. More people were working from home, but it was uncertain how this would impact on the use of office space. The EDS was only proposed until 2023 and Councillor Brooks queried why this relatively short term strategy had not been put on hold. It had already been delayed for the reasons explained.

Councillor Brooks also noted that reference was made in the document to a hope to achieve certain targets and a hope to implement changes etc. He felt the EDS lacked certainty and ambition that areas of work would be completed.

Councillor Brooks had been advised of the number of companies that had been consulted, but he queried whether meetings had been arranged with large local employers such as Vodafone as part of the consultation or had they merely been written to?

The Liberal Democrat Group felt that more work was needed on the EDS and they could not support it in its present form.

Councillor Cole was disappointed to note the final point from Councillor Brooks. Although added that was not surprised when considering how strongly Councillor Brooks felt about economic development. Councillor Cole referred back to her introductory points which included that the EDS would need to be adapted due to the present unprecedented circumstances.

Councillor Cole continued by stating her view that it was better to have a new proactive EDS in place rather than retaining the old reactive version.

She acknowledged the point made about being hopeful for achievements and felt this was another example of the Council hiding its light under a bushel rather than lacking ambition. There was however a need to be realistic as well as aiming for high standards.

Councillor Cole felt that this was a sound document for present circumstances. The EDSDP would help to achieve much with local businesses.

She concluded by stating that the Economic Development Manager had held meetings across the district, to a larger extent than ever previously, and as a result had made strong contacts within larger down to smaller businesses. A wide range of businesses had been approached and spoken to rather than via a form filling exercise.

Councillor Lynne Doherty supported this point by advising that she had attended meetings of the Newbury West Berkshire Economic Development Company and met many employees to hear their views.

Councillor Lee Dillon commented that there was a clear understanding amongst Liberal Democrat Members that the other papers presented to this meeting would be subject to changes as a result of Covid-19. However, the Group felt that economic changes would be so transformational that the EDS would become out of date soon after being approved. He noted that progress would be reviewed, but he sought a commitment that update reports would be presented to Executive on a quarterly basis as part of this review. This was important when considering that the economy underpinned many important areas of Council activity.

Councillor Doherty responded to this point by advising that she had meet with the LEP and they had an existing economic strategy. The LEP also recognised that it was important to have a strategy as a baseline.

The LEP would be leading on much of the economic recovery work across the Thames Valley and therefore it was only right to consider the timetable they were working to so that the LEP, the Council and businesses could work in partnership before committing to a schedule for reviewing the document. Councillor Doherty did however give her support to conducting reviews once the timetable had been considered.

Councillor Dillon noted this response, but felt it would still be useful in the meantime to receive updates on local initiatives. He would also welcome himself and Councillor Brooks having sight of the timetable referred to.

Councillor Doherty confirmed that work was ongoing on the timetable, but it would be shared in due course.

Councillor Cole endorsed the view that the Council would be working closely with the LEP and local businesses. It was important to align the Council’s activity with that of the LEP. Progress would be reported at a future date.

RESOLVED that the Economic Development Strategy and Economic Development Strategy Delivery Plan be approved.

Other options considered: Not approving the Economic Development Strategy and Economic Development Strategy Delivery Plan. This option is not recommended given the Council’s commitments as outlined in the Council Strategy 2019-2023.