To receive a presentation from the Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion – Councillor Rob Bird.  

47.1           The Mayor invited Councillor Bird, Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion, to make his presentation.  

47.2           The presentation covered the following key points:

·           Team Structure – Economic Development Officer; Tourism Officer; Economic Development and Tourism Assistant; Visitor Information Centre Manager; and Community and Economic Development Manager. The team sat within Development Services under the Head of Development Services. Businesses and individuals drove economic growth and the role of Tewkesbury Borough in that was as an influencer to bring people together to help aid prosperity.

·           Tewkesbury Borough Economy – the economy was vibrant and successful with local, national and global trading which the Council’s small team had to support. There were 43,000 jobs; unemployment was at 1% (approximately 500 people); the value of goods and services produced was £2.23 billion per year; there were 3,915 enterprises (including 3,445 micro-businesses); there was a strong business survival rate; annual tourism-related spend in the Borough was £125 million; and there were 1.8 million day visits to the Borough.

·           Tourism – this was a major part of the local economy with an annual spend of £125 million in tourism related business. Marketing and promotion of the area was largely through Cotswold Tourism which helped to promote Tewkesbury Borough to the wider world; the most obvious attraction was Tewkesbury Abbey which had 250,000 visitors annually. Help was provided to businesses through marketing campaigns etc. and to run events such as the Medieval Festival. In addition, activities were organised in local areas when necessary e.g. when the Cycle Tour of Great Britain came through the Borough. The team also helped with visitor experience promotion such as the signage project and the Tourist Information Centres.

·           Business Support – the team advised and helped businesses with expansion and relocation information – there was a real pressure and need for sites. Town centre support was vital as the local community of traders and businesses was growing so the development of local trading areas was important. In terms of funding, the team helped businesses understand what funds were available and how to obtain them. Regeneration was important and the team linked its economic expertise with local businesses to regenerate areas that needed it.

·           The Growth Hub – this was a new and exciting development which was taking place in the Borough. The new Growth Hub would be opening its doors at the Public Services Centre in June 2018 and the Council was extremely fortunate to be hosting a Hub of its size; it was the only District in the County to be doing so. The original Hub was located at Oxstalls in Gloucester and, whilst the Hub in Tewkesbury would be slightly smaller, it would act in the same way. The capital for the project had been funded by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as a one-stop-shop for business support and it would offer integrated delivery and a place for businesses to network, get help and find resources etc.

·           Business Delegations – the Council had been working with ‘Join in China’ for some time now and it had hosted events that linked businesses in the Borough with their Chinese counterparts. This had been a highly successful approach with two delegations from different areas in China visiting recently. The arrangement was enabling businesses in the Borough to reach new markets which was exciting news.

·           Business Grants – the Council offered three small but significant grants which, historically, were as a result of the recession period and an attempt to help businesses market themselves more effectively so they could grow and thrive. The grants had, over time, increased slightly in value and widened their scope so that they now covered anything that would promote the growth of a business rather than being focussed on marketing.

·           LEADER Fund – this was a rural development programme for England which offered grants to support rural business growth. It was a European Union (EU) initiative which was operating across Tewkesbury and the Forest of Dean and was paid through the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); it was a fairly bureaucratic process but was one that offered capital fund grants of £5,000 to £50,000 to help pump-prime new and innovative activities. The funds were managed by the Local Action Group which was coordinated through a Programme Manager. If Members knew of any businesses that were looking for funding and would qualify they should contact the Programme Manager who would be able to advise – the scheme had been in place for some time now and there was a need to get the message out there to ensure businesses were making the most of the funding available.

·           Economic Development and Tourism Strategy 2017-21 – this sought to deliver prosperity for the future and had recently been approved by the Council. Economic prosperity improved the lives of residents and economic development was one of the key priorities in the Council Plan which saw Tewkesbury Borough aspiring to be the primary growth engine of Gloucestershire’s economy; identifying and delivering employment land; maximising the growth potential of the M5 junctions; and regenerating Tewkesbury Town.

·           Strategy – Driving Business Growth – the Council needed to be simple, clear and focused. The aim was to be helpful, but not restrictive, and relevant to the needs of business.

·           Advantages - The Borough was fortunate in many ways as it had unique advantages such as available employment land; it sat aside a key motorway artery and in the middle of a motorway network; it had a main line railway connection and an important airport; it was the sixth most popular tourism destination in the Cotswolds; it was an established centre for high quality manufacturing/world class tech aero engineering; and it had a diverse economy. Gloucestershire airport was the eighth busiest airport in the UK and was becoming a huge driving force for business growth.

·           Relevant to Business Needs - the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy had been fundamentally based on the work from Bruton Knowles and Amion Consulting which had included an employment land review, an economic assessment and a business survey.

·           Strategic Priorities – the consultants had set out five key strategic priorities to facilitate and help economic development: employment land planning; transport infrastructure improvement; business growth support; promotion of Tewkesbury Borough; and employability, education and training.

47.3           The Mayor thanked the Lead Member for his informative presentation and invited questions from Members. A Member indicated that he had been alarmed recently when he had read something which suggested the airport may be closed; he felt it was important for the Council to ensure the airport not only remained open but actually flourished. In response, the Lead Member indicated that, when the Council’s Economic Development and Tourism Strategy was being developed, everyone on the Working Group had been very concerned that transport links were shown to be one of the most important factors in business growth. Members had seen the value of the airport in those aspirations. One of the Working Group meetings had been held at the airport and it had been quite illuminating to understand what it was involved in both locally and nationally. There were a number of senior business executives who flew into, and out of, the airport which was also something to bear in mind. In terms of the LEADER funding, a Member questioned how this would work when the UK left the EU. In response the Lead Member advised that the LEADER funding would cease anyway as it was time limited but it was not known what would happen in the future in terms of other EU funding and ‘Brexit’.

47.4           A Member indicated how proud he was to be part of such an outward looking Council and he was pleased that Tewkesbury Borough set the right environment to enable businesses to go onto greater things; however, he wondered whether there was anything else that could be done. The Lead Member was delighted with what the Council did now but was also optimistic for the future that more could be done. Some economic events had already been held and the most recent one had been particularly successful with a lot of positive feedback received. In addition, a lot of good had come from the Chinese delegations which had visited the Borough over the past year and some local engineering companies had seen real benefits in terms of connections made; the Lead Member felt that if a twinning arrangement could be implemented this could be a very good thing. Another Member questioned whether the authority had learnt from Dyson which had set up a production unit alongside an engineering university. He felt that type of model may be suitable for an area like Tewkesbury Borough. The Member also suggested that the Council could go out of its way to encourage businesses that were leading the way, particularly those in growing industries and those that would trade outside of the EU. In terms of technical skills, the Lead Member indicated that helping to improve employability using training and education was one of the five strategic priorities so it was a focus for the Strategy. In terms of a focus on growing industries, the Lead Member expressed the view that this was difficult to achieve due to the limited resources of the Economic Development Team. The Chief Executive confirmed that the Strategy was very detailed and Members who were interested should ensure they read it. Almost by default there was a focus on certain aspects as those industries were currently operating within the Borough. As markets changed following Brexit there would be a need to open new markets and businesses needed some help with that – this would be another benefit of the Growth Hub.

47.5           During the discussion which ensued, a Member noted that, whilst all the hi-tech businesses and jobs were great for the economy, it should also be remembered that there was a skill set deficit in tradespeople which needed to be addressed. In response, the Lead Member explained that education and training referred to all employment and the Council did what it could to facilitate good outcomes across all sectors. The Chief Executive agreed with Members that it was sad that Basepoint had closed as it had been a really useful training centre in the Borough; however, the County Council was currently developing a skills strategy for Gloucestershire and he hoped Members would be able to influence that to ensure it covered the educational need for all areas of employment.

47.6           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the presentation by the Lead Member for Economic                                   Development/Promotion be NOTED.