Agenda item

To consider the progress made against the delivery of the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy during year 4 and the actions identified for 2020/21.

62.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Community and Economic Development Manager, circulated at Pages No. 25-53, which provided an update on progress against the delivery of the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy during year four and the actions identified for 2021/22.  Members were asked to consider the report.

62.2          The Community and Economic Development Manager advised that the current strategy had been in place since 2017 and was based on five key priorities: employment land planning; transport infrastructure improvement; business growth support; promoting Tewkesbury Borough; and employability, education and training.  New actions were set each year under those headings.  The last 12 months had been difficult for everyone and the business community was no exception; this was likely to continue into the next year.  Notwithstanding this, a number of key actions from the strategy had been delivered and those of particular note were set out at Page No. 27, Paragraph 2.1 of the report, including the Growth Hub continuing to provide vital support to businesses, the successful launch of the Tewkesbury High Street Heritage Action Zone and the delivery of various grant schemes.  The actions for 2021/22 were set out at Page No. 28, Paragraph 3.2 of the report and included undertaking an economic assessment and business survey to understand the needs of local businesses and help inform future strategy; continuing to deliver tailored support solutions through the Growth Hub; launching and delivering the Small Business Grant scheme; working with partners to promote Tewkesbury Borough and encourage visitors to return; working with partners to support employment and skills initiatives targeted at those affected by unemployment, including a proposed Youth Hub project; and continuing to provide COVID-19 support and High Street recovery.

62.3           A Member noted that Appendix 1, which set out the progress that had been made against delivery of the actions in 2020/21, contained a lot of smiley faces but he questioned whether that was a true indication of progress in some cases, for instance, Page No. 30, Action b) Delivering sufficient employment land to meet the needs of the strategic plan, contained two parts – progress towards adoption of the Borough Plan and the draft Joint Core Strategy going to public consultation.  This had been carried forward into the action plan for 2021/22 which suggested that it had not progressed as expected.  Similarly, Page No. 35, Action d) 1, Work with partners to identify funding opportunities, was reproduced in next year’s action plan.  With regard to Page No. 37, Action a) Promote Tewkesbury Borough and the M5 Growth Corridor, he asked what the process was for determining which tourist spots within the borough would be promoted as Gwinnetts Tomb was not listed under historical items on the website.  He felt that the borough had a lot of options for great day trips which needed to be promoted to those who were already in the area visiting the more ‘major’ attractions and he felt that leaving these things off the website was a mistake – Gwinetts Tomb in particular was of massive significance on a worldwide scale and had attracted visitors from the US Embassy.  In response, the Community and Economic Development Manager explained that the actions under each objective had tended to be grouped together which meant that an overall approach had been taken when assessing progress.  This had been raised as an issue by the Committee in the previous year and it had been decided that would be addressed in the new strategy.  He fully agreed with the Member in terms of promoting enough to be of interest to visitors, and leaflets in relation to Gwinnetts Tomb were available in the Tourist Information Centres.  He undertook to ensure that it was also being promoted on the Visit Tewkesbury website and with partners at Cotswold Tourism.  The Member also queried whether all hotels in the borough were promoted on the websites and the Community and Economic Development Manager confirmed that they should be but he undertook to check. 

62.4           A Member drew attention to Page No. 38, Action b) Promote Tewkesbury Borough to visitors, working with Cotswold Tourism and other partners, including neighbouring tourism destinations, and noted that actions for 2021/22 included ‘promote the borough utilising resources from the Welcome Back Fund’ and she asked for clarification on what that was.  In response, Members were informed that this was a COVID-19 government fund which was originally the Re-Opening the High Street Fund and was about supporting people back to the High Street in a safe manner; the Welcome Back Fund had slightly different criteria and was focused on the retail centres in Tewkesbury, Winchcombe and Bishop’s Cleeve.  Related to the same action, a Member asked what the Uncover the Cotswolds Project was about and was advised that the Cotswolds brand was well-known internationally but some places were more popular than others e.g. Bourton-on-the-Water, so the scheme had been launched to promote the lesser-known experiences using an online booking system to encourage new markets.  The Member asked for a list of what the money for the Welcome Back Fund had been spent on as Bishop’s Cleeve had promoted several things but she did not recall the money having been received.  The Community and Economic Development Manager explained that the money was yet to be spent; however, a meeting had taken place with Bishop’s Cleeve Parish Council recently where they had gone through how they would like to spend the money and he would be able to share the firm plans with Members over the coming weeks.  Another Member indicated that other parts of the borough were growing in size and he asked whether there were any plans to expand investment, for instance, Brockworth now had around 4,000 houses as well as a High Street with a number of shops which were also struggling to get back on their feet following the pandemic.  The Growth and Enterprise Manager explained that local centres were eligible for the Welcome Back Fund and she would be happy to speak to businesses in the Brockworth area to see if any help could be offered; however, she stressed that this fund was specifically about welcoming people back.  Nevertheless, wider conversations could be had with businesses via the Growth Hub if the Member was able to put them in touch.  Going forward it was hoped it would be possible for Officers to go out to the localities once again.  In response to a query about suggestions for other attractions to be promoted, the Community and Economic Development Manager advised that the Visit Tewkesbury website was run by Officers so they were able to add things if required.  He reiterated that attractions were promoted on both the Visit Tewkesbury website and via Cotswold.com which had 150,000 visitors last month, in addition, various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were also used to promote events etc.

62.5           A Member drew attention to Page No. 28, Paragraph 4.1 of the report, which stated that a new Economic Development and Tourism Strategy would be developed in 2022 covering the period 2022-2026 and he asked who would be reviewing this and what support the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could offer.  The Community and Economic Development Manager explained that initial discussions had taken place with the Lead Member as to the best process for the review and he pointed out that a lot of the objectives within the current strategy were still very relevant; however, one of the key elements informing the review would be a business survey and economic assessment to understand the needs of the business community.  It was intended to bring the draft strategy to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in June 2022.  The Member asked whether Members would have an opportunity to influence the strategy at that point and was advised that it would be a draft and so could be amended as necessary.  In response to a query as to how to grow the cyber offer within the borough, taking particular advantage of the M5 growth corridor, the Growth and Enterprise Manager indicated that looking in-depth at the various sectors would be an important part of the economic assessment; Tewkesbury Borough had a strong presence in the cyber sector and that needed to be reflected in the new strategy.  A Member noted that one of the successes highlighted at Page No. 28, Paragraph 2.1 of the report, related to continued delivery of the countywide inward investment service which included work on the development of advanced manufacturing and cyber propositions and he asked for more information on what had been achieved given the strategy was now entering its fifth year.  The Growth and Enterprise Manager explained that work was still underway on the actual delivery of the advanced manufacturing proposal but that was due to be completed early in the New Year which was considered to be the right time; a cyber proposition was also being worked on which would put Tewkesbury Borough on an international stage.  She pointed out that the report did not reflect all of the work being undertaken as it was also about developing interest and working with investors.  There were a number of countywide projects which a whole range of Officers had helped to develop across the strategy period.

62.6           A Member noted that Page No. 50 of the strategy outlined an objective around ‘air’ and supporting Gloucestershire Airport’s business expansion and highway access improvement; however, he raised concern that this was really about roads as opposed to the expansion of air infrastructure.  The Chief Executive explained that the strategy was setting out that it was supportive of aviation and the facilities within the borough; Gloucestershire Airport relied on businesses at the site around the airport, most of which were connected to air travel in some way.  Whilst he accepted that supporting business expansion and highway access improvement was not increasing the amount of flights to and from the airport, it was important in terms of the success of the airport and the air business which was recognised in the strategy.  There may be an opportunity to work more closely with the airport to promote air facilities in the next strategy, if Members so wished.

62.7           A Member drew attention to Page No. 33, Action a) 1, Deliver year four business engagement programme of events and 1:1 meetings and he noted that 2,773 business support interactions had been delivered but this did not include any outcomes.  In response, the Growth and Enterprise Manager advised that some examples included helping to grow a music academy which delivered courses in schools, in particular assisting with marketing, finding premises for expansion and developing its business plan; assisting a successful mobile coffee business to grow by putting them in contact with events and providing HR advice in relation to taking on new employees; and working with a fruit farm to obtain a grant to develop a website and install an online selling platform.  With regard to Page No. 34, Action b) Promote rural businesses and economic growth in rural areas of the borough, a Member noted that the Digital Strategy had not been taken forward at the current time so he asked why this had been attributed a smiley face.  In response, the Community and Economic Development Manager explained that this was another example of where the actions needed to be split further so that progress could be accurately reported for each one; the Digital Strategy was very important for businesses but, in order to avoid duplication, this had been put on hold as Gloucestershire County Council was also taking a strategy forward.  In response to a query as to when the strategy was due to be developed, the Community and Economic Development Manager advised that he believed it had already been developed but he was unsure if there was an action plan behind it and he would update Members following the meeting.

62.8           A Member indicated that he could see little in relation to environmental improvement within the current strategy and he felt that staff should be encouraging businesses to do things in more environmentally friendly ways as much as possible.  The Community and Economic Development Manager reminded Members that the current strategy had been developed in 2017 and climate change and environmental impact had increased dramatically in importance since that time; a number of businesses had the green agenda at heart and this would be a key part of the new strategy going forward.

62.9           Having considered the information provided, it was

RESOLVED          That the progress made against the delivery of the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy during year four, and the actions identified for 2021/22, be NOTED.