Agenda item

To seek Cabinet’s approval for the Economic Growth Strategy. Cabinet’s agreement is also sought to allocate £100,000 from uncommitted resources within the Council’s Regeneration Budgets in order to support the development and delivery of projects that will deliver key interventions against the objectives of the Strategy.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

1.      approves the draft Tendring Economic Strategy 2020 – 2024, as set out in the Appendix to item A.3 of the Report of the Business & Economic Growth Portfolio Holder;

2.      notes that actions to deliver the Economic Strategy will be developed as part of annual Departmental Service Plans;

3.      approves the allocation of £100,000 from the Council’s Business Investment and Growth Budget to support the delivery of the Strategy; and

4.      notes that, as part of the Council’s back to business strategy, following the pandemic, the strategic interventions may need to be reframed or reprioritised in order to deliver the economic stimulus required to deliver economic growth and support businesses.

The Cabinet gave consideration to a report of the Business & Economic Growth Portfolio Holder (A.3) which sought its approval for the Tendring Economic Strategy 2020-2024, as set out in the Appendix to the Portfolio Holder’s report. Cabinet’s agreement was also sought to allocate £100,000 from uncommitted resources within the Council’s Regeneration Budgets in order to support the development and delivery of projects that would deliver key interventions against the objectives of the Strategy.

It was reported that in 2013 the Council had undertaken significant work in order to develop a ten year Economic Strategy for the District. That work had reflected the commitment of the Council and its partners to create the conditions needed to stimulate economic growth in the period to 2023. This Strategy had now been refreshed in order to:

·         Respond to uncertain economic conditions, both locally and nationally;

·         Better understand the current evidence explaining the under-performance of Tendring’s economy;

·         Ensure that the case for future investment in Tendring was informed by the best available evidence and articulated through a clear Strategy; and

·         Inform the technical and employment requirements of the Council’s emerging Local Plan.

Cabinet was informed that evidence from the Office of National Statistics demonstrated that there had been some important changes in Tendring’s economy since 2013, which underpinned the need for a change in the Council’s approach.

The refreshed Strategy therefore sought to promote:

·           A greater focus on Clacton-on-Sea and Jaywick Sands, noting a decline in the economic performance of those locations. This focussed specifically on local participation within communities and securing long term prosperity;

·           Bold action in Clacton Town Centre, recognising that its future was unlikely to be led by retail alone;

·           A balance in the evolution of Harwich as a port with the development of the visitor economy in the town and the surrounding area;

·           A need to focus on two sectors: Care and Assisted Living; and Clean Energy, whilst recognising the need to be alive to opportunities in the rural economy, culture/creativity and tourism; and

·           A focus upon the higher growth companies within the District, enlisting their experience and know-how to support the development of policy and focussed interventions to support new and existing companies in Tendring.

However, whilst the Strategy set out the longer term direction, more immediate refocusing or reprioritisation could be required to support those sectors which would be hardest hit by the Covid pandemic. Members were therefore advised that the Strategy would need to factor in this agility of approach particularly in the short term. 

Cabinet was made aware that the Vision and Objectives of the Strategy would need to be delivered via the implementation of projects that were developed departmentally and through new and existing partnerships with the public, private and voluntary sectors (locally, regionally and nationally). Delivery of the Strategy would take time as many of the objectives identified would require a significant step-change in Tendring’s economic trajectory.

It was suggested that in order to achieve the desired outcomes, the Council would need to work closely with public and private sector partners in order to realise practical and deliverable actions. This was particularly important given the current challenging and volatile economic conditions, with on-going uncertainty in relation to resources to support delivery. Ensuring that partners could see the long-term vision for Tendring would be a crucial part in building momentum behind Tendring’s economy.

Members were advised that some of the required actions would be easier to deliver, and the results would be more visible, particularly those related to physical development. For others, especially those linked to aspiration, employment and skills, action would be as much about shifting the business culture in the District as it was about measurable results.  Some of those actions could take a generation or more to embed, but were not any less important to the long-term economic success of the District.

It was felt that the long-term nature of the Strategy meant that there would be a need to maintain a strong dialogue between the Council and its partners. Also fundamental to the success of the Strategy would be the Council’s ability to work alongside national, regional and sub-regional development partners (including the South East LEP, Essex County Council and neighbouring districts) and to ensure that partners could see the long-term vision for Tendring’s economy.

The Cabinet’s agreement was therefore sought to allocate £100,000 from the uncommitted resources within the Council’s Regeneration Budgets in order to support the development and delivery of projects that would deliver key interventions against the five objectives of the Strategy.

Important Advisory Note

Cabinet noted that work on the Council’s refreshed Economic Strategy had concluded well in advance of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had subsequently had such a devastating short-term impact on the UK’s economy (the longer-term impact was yet to be known). However, it was not felt at this stage that the Strategy’s Vision(s) and/or its Strategic Objectives needed amending to accommodate the impact of the pandemic on the national, regional or local economic scene, as those sought to address the established structural weaknesses in the District’s economy.

It was proposed that the immediate project interventions arising from the Strategy should be influenced, guided and moulded by the need to help existing businesses recover from the COVID-19 lockdown. This could mean that in the early years of delivery, greater emphasis was placed upon the need to provide tailored business support (Information, Advice and Guidance), and as appropriate financial aid, to help businesses get back to their pre-COVID position with regard to market share, turnover, and prospects for growth.

It was also noted that the Economic Strategy was a key document for Part 2 of the Local Plan and as such it had been concluded that, whilst the effects of COVID-19 might require a refresh of the Strategy it would be better to adopt the Strategy based on what was currently known rather than to wait and potentially delay the development of the Local Plan. 

Members were informed that, at the beginning of June 2020 the Council’s Economic Growth Team had launched a business survey aimed at securing intelligence on the range and type of business support required by the District’s businesses. Data from the survey would be used to inform project interventions.

Cabinet recalled that, at its meeting held in January 2020, it had allocated £90,000 in support of its Tendring4Growth Strategy, £60,000 of which had been sourced from previously uncommitted Section106 funding and identified for use in support of a tailored Tendring4Growth Business Support Service. Work on this scheme had been suspended as a consequence of COVID-19, but a specification of requirements would now be prepared using the intelligence secured as part of the business survey referenced above. The specification would then be used to procure a suitable third party business advice provider, which (subject to cost and available funding) would be contracted to work with the Council for a period of three years.

Having considered the contents of the proposed Economic Strategy:-

It was moved by Councillor Newton, seconded by Councillor G V Guglielmi and:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

1.      approves the draft Tendring Economic Strategy 2020 – 2024, as set out in the Appendix to item A.3 of the Report of the Business & Economic Growth Portfolio Holder;

2.      notes that actions to deliver the Economic Strategy will be developed as part of annual Departmental Service Plans;

3.      approves the allocation of £100,000 from the Council’s Business Investment and Growth Budget to support the delivery of the Strategy; and

4.      notes that, as part of the Council’s back to business strategy, following the pandemic, the strategic interventions may need to be reframed or reprioritised in order to deliver the economic stimulus required to deliver economic growth and support businesses.