Issue - meetings

To authorise the Deputy Chief Executive and the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion, to make amendments to the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy 2017-2021.

That authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive and the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion, to make amendments to the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy 2017-21.  

30.1           The report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 34-58, outlined progress to date on the year two action plan in respect of the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy 2017-21, as well as outlining the actions for 2019/20. The progress and actions had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 18 June 2019 and that Committee had made a recommendation to the Executive Committee which Members were asked to consider.

30.2           The Economic and Community Development Manager advised that the Strategy had originally been written in 2017 and had been due to be reviewed in 2021 in line with the new Council Plan; however, there were some amendments that were required now and the Executive Committee was asked to authorise the Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion, to make such amendments.

30.3           The Economic Development and Tourism Strategy covered five key priorities: employment land planning; transport infrastructure improvement; business growth support; promoting Tewkesbury Borough; and employability, education and training. Under each of those headings were a number of objectives and annual actions were outlined under those objectives. Over the last 12 months, several key actions had been fulfilled including: the launch and operation of Tewkesbury Growth Hub; the launch of Hub surgery sessions for businesses with a planning champion; a successful bid to establish a Countywide Inward Investment Service with local authority partners and GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP); launch of the ‘Uncover the Cotswolds’ project to attract more visitors from European markets; successful business engagement events; ongoing delivery of the Small Business Grant Scheme; LEADER funds allocated to businesses within Tewkesbury Borough; and the submission of the future High Streets fund expression of interest. The action plan for 2019/20 set out positive interventions to facilitate and encourage economic growth including: delivery of year two Growth Hub support; exploration of Growth Hub extension plans; delivery of annual business engagement, courses and training; delivery of the countywide Inward Investment Service working with key partners; establishing a J9 Business Group to support delivery of the masterplan and Garden Town; working with GFirst LEP to develop and shape the Local Industrial Strategy; and increasing the heritage offer of Tewkesbury Battlefield. In terms of amendments, the Committee was advised that, due to a focus on growth and a number of changes in the economic development field, the Strategy would benefit from updates in respect of initiatives and policies such as the Garden Town, the High Street Fund, potential airport growth and the Local Industrial Strategy.

30.4           During the brief discussion which ensued, a Member noted that tourism was vital for the Borough, as it supplied jobs and strengthened the economy, and he questioned what was being done in that regard as he did not see it mentioned within the Strategy. In response, the Economic and Community Development Manager offered reassurance that tourism was reflected throughout the Strategy. It was acknowledged that the way people accessed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30

To consider the progress made against the delivery of the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy during year two and the actions identified for 2019/20 and to recommend to the Executive Committee that authority to make amendments to the strategy be delegated to the Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Development Services.

11.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 31-56, which asked Members to consider the progress made against the delivery of the Economic Development Strategy during year two, and the actions identified for 2019/20, and to recommend to the Executive Committee that authority to make amendments to the strategy be delegated to the Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Development Services.

11.2           The Head of Democratic Services advised that it was not possible to delegate authority to the Lead Member to make changes to the strategy, therefore, part two of the recommendation set out in the report should read ‘To recommend to the Executive Committee that authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion, to make amendments to the strategy’.

11.3          The Economic and Community Development Manager advised that the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy 2017-21 had been adopted by the Executive Committee in June 2017.  The strategy had been developed by an Overview and Scrutiny Working Group and was informed by an employment land review, economic assessment and business survey carried out by Bruton Knowles.  The strategy was based on five key priorities: employment land planning; transport infrastructure improvement; business growth support; promoting Tewkesbury Borough; and employability, education and training.  These priorities were reflected in an annual action plan.  The report outlined the work from the previous year and, as set out at Page No. 33, Paragraph 3.2 of the report, provided key actions for the year ahead.  Members were advised that a new strategy was due to be produced in 2021; however, due to a focus on growth and a number of changes around economic development, for example, new initiatives such as Garden Towns and the High Street Fund, it was requested that authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Economic Development/Promotion, to update the current strategy in the interim.

11.4           A Member indicated that she could see Officers had worked hard, and there were a number of actions, but there were no quantifiable outputs in the report so she would like to see the inclusion of performance metrics to demonstrate what had been achieved.  The Economic and Community Development Manager indicated that the performance tracker, included as part of the performance management report which was the next item on the Agenda, gave information on the unemployment rate, number of business births etc. and he would be more than happy to reflect that within this report in future.  The Growth and Enterprise Manager advised that the Growth Hub set targets around jobs created and interactions with businesses so those figures could also be included.

11.5           A Member went on to question whether there was a realistic timescale for the work around supporting the Gloucestershire Airport business expansion.  He noted that a lot of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11