Prosperity
Prosperity
Economic growth plays a crucial role in improving the health and wellbeing and living standards of our residents. We want to create the conditions for sustainable economic growth within the district and ensure that all residents can benefit as a result.
We will actively contribute to the district’s economic growth by supporting innovation and ensuring the district remains an attractive place to live and do business. We will work with partners and the business community to help align skills provision with current and future needs so that residents are able to access employment opportunities and businesses can thrive.
What we heard from our residents, communities, businesses, members and stakeholders highlighted the following:
- The importance of having thriving town centres for socialising and business opportunities with a diverse and unique range of shops.
- The need to encourage new businesses into our district.
- The importance of helping existing businesses to thrive and be supported by our communities.
- The need to grow local employment opportunities including further training for adults taking account of future skills demand.
- The need for good transport links to jobs including infrastructure and public transport.
- The importance of developing local services and providing infrastructure when growing the district.
Our Key Priorities:
- Ensure district growth is sustainable and accessible with strong connectivity and infrastructure.
- Attract and support business growth, providing high quality employment opportunities in high growth sectors and industries.
- Provide tailored business support and access to funding to help businesses thrive and innovate.
- Develop skills that are attractive to employers and support residents to access opportunities to improve their economic wellbeing.
We will do this by…
Developing an integrated planning approach that considers the long-term vision for the district, taking into account environmental, social, and economic factors. We will implement our local cycling and walking infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) to ensure a long-term approach is taken to developing local cycling and walking networks as well as promoting public transport, walking and cycling as alternative modes of travel to the car, highlighting the environmental, health and economic benefits.
We will forge partnerships with businesses and industry experts to gain a deeper understanding of market trends, emerging technologies, and industry -specific challenges. Research will be carried out to better understand the direction in which the business landscape is moving to provide training and upskilling opportunities in the right areas. We will continue to organise networking events, workshops and conferences where local businesses can connect with each other, industry experts and potential partners or customers and facilitate access to funding sources for local businesses by providing information about grants, loans and other financial assistance programmes.
Our role in driving inclusive economic growth is crucial as we aim to enhance wealth and create fair and meaningful work opportunities for all. We are committed to developing skills provisions around the needs of the district and support the creation of higher paid/skilled jobs in emerging sectors to ensure people are well-equipped to thrive in the evolving job market.