Agenda item

To receive a presentation from the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Regeneration, Economic Development and Local Transport, Councillor Jinny Pearce, based on the questions proposed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

(Report attached)

Councillor Jinny Pearce, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Regeneration, Economic Development and Local Transport, provided Members with responses to the Committee’s list of questions as detailed below:

1)           What proposals for investment in economic development do you have?

Members were advised that it was not expected that the Council would be committing any additional resources for economic development. The current focus instead was on maximising the most out of current resources and increasing dialogue with local businesses to ensure that the Council was working in their best interests.

A new business guide, The Redditch Guide to Business, had been produced which advertised how the Council could assist new businesses. The Council was keen to provide support for local businesses that had particularly struggled during the recession by helping them to up-skill and diversify.

Efforts were being made to strengthen the link between education and industry, which included encouraging local schools to help school pupils develop the skills required by the local manufacturing base.

2)           What measurements will the Council use to gauge the effectiveness of the Economic Development Strategy?

The Economic Development Strategy was focused on accruing long term benefits through a slow process of change. It was therefore difficult to measure the effectiveness of the Strategy in the short-term as in many cases this was neither possible nor appropriate. However, it was commented that positive progress had been made during the previous twelve months.

3)           What steps does the Council plan to address:

a)      Changes in bus pass provision?

Members were informed that Worcestershire County Council were now co-ordinating the bus scheme. Concessionary bus fares would only apply from 9.30am onwards across the County. Members were informed that elderly local residents, contacted during preliminary consultation, did not consider retention of a pre 9.30am service to be essential.

The Council was considering utilising the Dial-a-Ride service to transport bus pass holders to medical appointments that took place before 9.30am. It was currently uncertain what level of resource would be provided to run the service.

b)         Changes in bus pass subsidies and the impact on routes in Redditch?

The County Council’s proposals for bus services across the county were out for consultation until April 2011. It was not expected that any changes to services in Redditch would take effect until the County Council considered the changes in May. However, it was thought that Redditch services would be affected by the significant reduction in the County Council’s bus subsidy.

Members expressed concern about the threat of a reduction of bus services in Redditch. It was suggested that vulnerable groups could be particularly badly affected.

4)           How many actual jobs have been created by the Economic Development Unit? Do we have mechanisms for counting these jobs?

Members heard that the Economic Development Unit (EDU) was not primarily focused on the creation of new jobs. Instead, the purpose of the EDU strategy was to raise the aspirations of local people to develop their skills; to support local businesses to help them to grow and diversify; and to promote Redditch as a business location.

5)           What problems do you foresee in the future for your service areas?

The recent recession had made it more difficult to obtain sufficient funding to deliver on the Council’s aspirations for the services within this portfolio. This particularly affected potential regeneration projects and securing necessary planning infrastructure.

6)           Why is it taking so long for town centre landscaping improvements to be implemented?

Additional time had been allocated to a public consultation that was currently taking place on improvements to the town centre landscaping. One of the main proposals being consulted involved a possible relocation of the war memorial to the other side of St Stephen’s Church. The Committee heard that a proposal to relocate the bandstand had attracted a mixed response.

7)           Is the Town Centre Strategy overly ambitious?

Councillor Pearce expressed the view that the Town Centre Strategy was appropriately ambitious.  It was noted that the strategy represented a long-term plan for the town centre and the present focus was on delivering some of the less expensive parts of the strategy.

8)           How are we placing Redditch on the map in terms of business tourism?

Members heard that a specific section on business tourism had been included within the Redditch Guide to Business. The Council had also made a contribution to an accommodation guide being produced by the North Worcestershire Tourism Association (NWT) to help promote Redditch for business.

It was expected that the establishment of the new North Worcestershire Economic Development Unit would enable the Borough to benefit from the experience of other councils in terms of promoting tourism.

9)           What success has the Learn Direct service that replaced the REDI Centre had so far to date?

It was suggested that it would be more appropriate for Councillor Gay Hopkins to address this question when she attended the next meeting of the Committee in her role as Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism.

RESOLVED that

1)           question 9, as detailed in the preamble above, be referred to the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism to address in her annual report before the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23rd March 2011; and

2)      the report be noted.