Agenda item

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 work was already being done around apprenticeships but surely it was necessary to expand supporting services as well and he queried whether that was being considered as part of the Tewkesbury Borough Plan process.  In response, the Head of Development Services advised that the Tewkesbury Borough Plan dealt with the policies in more detail and would specifically look at promotion and development of the airport, from both a development management and a business growth and economic activity point of view, in order to create the conditions for that growth to occur.  A Member queried whether development would be on the airport site itself or in the surrounding areas and was advised that the proposals in the Tewkesbury Borough Plan set out the policy framework to create a degree of flexibility to bring sites forward on the airport which was partly in the Green Belt and therefore subject to certain policy restrictions.

11.6           With regard to the action around supporting business parks in their growth plans, a Member questioned how many were likely to come forward and where they would be situated and she was advised that the majority were extensions to existing rural business centres and business parks.  The Head of Development Services indicated that the draft Tewkesbury Borough Plan was due to be taken to Council in July 2019 and included a generic policy about the growth of rural businesses, as well as identifying expansion opportunities at some rural centres, and she undertook to provide this to Members.

11.7          A Member noted from Page No. 37 of the report that one of the actions for 2018/19 was the commencement of a Joint Core Strategy review and, whilst the ‘progress’ section stated that this had commenced, the actions for 2019/20 included ‘commence JCS review’ so he was unsure whether or not this had started.  The Head of Development Services confirmed the review was underway and a meeting of the Planning Policy Reference Panel would be held over the next couple of weeks.  Another Member drew attention to Page No. 39 and the action around promoting traffic flow improvements, which included an initiative with Highways England regarding strategic routes and road implementation schemes, which had been given a smiley face and he raised concern that this could not be the case given that there was no mention of the Innsworth/Twigworth link road which was a major piece of infrastructure.  In response the Head of Development Services provided assurance that this was recognised as a key piece of infrastructure and clarified that the smiley face reflected the broad work as opposed to specific projects.  The Member accepted the work that had been done but felt it was important to reference that which was outstanding.

11.8          A Member noted that a key priority for 2019/20 was establishing a J9 Business Group to support the masterplan and Garden Town delivery and she questioned what type of businesses that would include.  In response, the Growth and Enterprise Manager explained that it was hoped to form a group from the businesses which attended the business breakfast meetings held at the end of each month.  The Member queried how many businesses would be on the group and was informed that 20 would be a manageable number.  Another Member drew attention to Page No. 47 of the report which stated that a range of courses had been delivered throughout the year through the Growth Hub and she sought clarification as to how many.  The Growth and Enterprise Manager advised that 20 courses had been delivered to date, focusing on social media and marketing to assist business with their business plans, and it was hoped to run two per month going forward.  The Member questioned how the success of the courses was evaluated and was advised that this was largely gauged through demand and feedback - there was a waiting list for the courses and a survey was conducted at the end of each one. 

11.9           A Member indicated that he had made a number of observations which Officers may wish to consider in their refresh of the strategy.  He noted that no specific reference had been made to the potential for Junction 10; it had been referenced in the broader document with regard to the proposal for a cyber park and the investment the government had put into local colleges and it seemed to him there was a significant opportunity in terms of generating both cyber and engineering opportunities given Tewkesbury Borough’s historic base in those areas.  He was also conscious that the announcement of the commitment to net zero carbon emissions would be a significant economic strain but pointed out the economic opportunities in technology and development and suggested that should potentially be looked at in relation to the Junction 10 facility.  He felt that the detailed action plan contained a lot of good work but noted there was no reference to leisure opportunities other than tourism and he referred to Cheltenham Brewery and the significant business rate and rent reductions being offered there.  In terms of airport growth, he raised concern that this had been discussed for many years with no real outcomes aside from site growth.  He was excited about the LEADER grant programme but felt it was important to look at the next tranche of rural economic growth; he welcomed the introduction of the Growth Hub and questioned whether there was potential for growth ‘spokes’ coming out of the Hub as, although it was right to focus on Tewkesbury, there was also a lot of rural potential.  The Member indicated that he would be happy to discuss his thoughts with Officers in more detail following the meeting.

11.10        A Member noted that one of the actions for 2019/20 was to develop plans for an increased heritage offer and he felt this should include Gwinnett’s Tomb in Down Hatherley - Button Gwinnett was the second American signatory of the declaration of independence and therefore this was a significant historical site.  The Economic and Community Development Manager confirmed that this attraction was being promoted and a guide had been produced and was on display, furthermore, conversations had taken place with the Council’s Community Funding Officer around the need for funding to make more of the tomb. 

11.11        With regard to the regeneration of Tewkesbury Town Centre, a Member questioned how realistic a retail development would be on the Spring Gardens site. In response the Economic and Community Development Manager advised that a national report comparing this year with the previous year indicated that trade was 5% down across the country.  The Head of Development Services explained that this was why diversification was so important and the High Street Fund bid would help to ensure the Council had the opportunity to maximise the potential of the High Street and improve the public realm to create an environment that would flourish and increase footfall.  Spring Gardens was a development project that was yet to finally emerge but she stressed it was all about improving the quality of the town and supporting traders where appropriate.  Members were also advised that the High Street Fund bid asked for other uses, for instance, leisure uses and events, which would make it a vibrant place for the community.  In response to a query, the Growth and Enterprise Manager confirmed that the Growth Hub supported businesses across the borough, not just in Tewkesbury Town, for instance, she had recently assisted a business in Bishop’s Cleeve to occupy one of the empty units in the village and events were often carried out ‘on the road’.  A Member suggested that ‘Welcome to Tewkesbury Borough’ signs would be beneficial in terms of the action to promote Tewkesbury Borough and the Economic and Community Development Manager confirmed that this was something which had been investigated previously and had been found to be cost prohibitive, furthermore, people tended to visit places within the borough as opposed to visiting Tewkesbury Borough itself.  Notwithstanding this, he would be happy to revisit this if Members wished.

11.12        A Member noted that the report contained a lot of smiley faces and questioned whether this was an accurate reflection of strategy delivery.  In response the Economic and Community Development Manager advised that it was a very different climate than when the strategy had first been produced, particularly in terms of retail, and there were certain aspects which the team would like to develop, for instance, events across the borough and supporting tourism businesses, particularly with regard to accommodation.  The Member noted that the performance management report, which was the next item on the Agenda, showed one of the tourism actions with a sad face and he questioned why this was not reflected in this report.  In response, Members were advised that the strategy was not exactly the same as the measures in the performance report but this was something which Officers would be looking to align as the strategy changed in order to give a better picture.

11.13        The Chair noted that Officers had requested the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to recommend to the Executive Committee that authority be delegated to Officers, in consultation with the Lead Member, to make changes to the strategy and he questioned what type of amendments they would be, whether they would be brought back to Members and what the procedure would be going forward.  In response, the Economic and Community Development Manager explained that the strategy was due to be reviewed in 2021 to reflect the new Council Plan; however, there were certain things which had not even existed in 2017 when the strategy had been written which may need to be addressed, therefore, the delegated authority would enable minor changes to be made in the interim. 

11.14        A Member questioned what ‘Fastershire’ was and why Members had not been informed of it.  The Economic and Community Development Manager advised that ‘Fastershire’ was essentially the roll-out of broadband to improve speeds, and therefore capacity, for residents and businesses and he undertook to circulate a Member Update in relation to this following the meeting.  It was subsequently

RESOLVED          1.   That the progress made against the delivery of the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy during year two and the actions identified for 2019/20 be NOTED.

2.   That it be RECOMMENDED 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.