Action Plans and Key Projects
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Winchester’s Economic Action Plan Final Draft Winchester Economic Action Plan (Final Draft) 1 Contents: Introduction Page 3 Context of the Economic Action Plan Page 4 Structure of the Economic Action Plan Page 5 Strategic fit of the Economic Action Plan Page 6 Working Together Page 7 State of Winchester’s Economy Page 8 Future of Winchester’s Economy Page 8 Action Plan Page 11 Appendix 1 - Glossary Page 17 Appendix 2 – Sustainability Appraisal Page 18 Appendix 3 – Equality and Diversity Page 19 Appendix 4 – Rural Proofing Page 20 Winchester Economic Action Plan (Final Draft) 2 Introduction: Winchester district enjoys a varied and prosperous Winchester encourages sustainable and the city has a economy. From the city centre retail, to industrial mainline station within an hour of London and links to the estate manufacturing, to rural land based activities, the south coast regions. There is also a National Express area has a lot to offer. service which links in with other centres and transport hubs across the country. The Park and Ride facility is popular With a population of over 109,000, the unemployment rate with both commuters and shoppers, and there is plentiful is stable at around 0.9% compared to the UK average of parking available within the town itself. Eastleigh 2.4% (Hampshire County Council, November 2005). The International Airport is 20 minutes away, and Gatwick and workforce is generally highly skilled, feeding a healthy Heathrow Airports within 90 minutes. knowledge economy. Winchester also supports a thriving creative sector. These are “those industries which have “Partnership is the key to success” their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the The district covers 250 square miles of Hampshire. Much of generation and exploitation of intellectual property. This the district could be designated as part of the South Downs includes advertising, architecture, the art and antiques National Park. There are numerous festivals and events market, crafts, design, designer fashion, film and video, held in the town, and the wider district is home to some of interactive leisure software, music, the performing arts, the most compelling historical attractions in the south. The publishing, software and computer games, television and tourism industry alone generates around £171 million radio” (DCMS, 2006). annually (Winchester City Council Tourism Strategy 2004-8). “A creative and knowledge based economy” The prosperity of the district relies on all of these and many more factors. Prosperity cannot be seen in isolation, but as A range of further and higher education institutions provide a balance of economic, environmental and social aspects. training in a variety of disciplines. The University of This action plan aims to bring together partners dealing with Winchester and the Winchester School of Art maintain an all of these issues, and tackle them together. This action eclectic mix of creative industries. Sparsholt College plan, therefore, is not owned by any one partner, but is a supports the rural sector through agriculture, forestry, land programme of work for all partners; everyone takes management and animal care programmes. There are also responsibility. plenty of opportunities for adult education, either in the classroom, distance learning, or on the Internet. This plan will be endorsed by the Winchester Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), as the economic arm of that partnership. The LSP works to establish and maintain a Community Strategy, which sets out the vision for the district for the next 10-15 years. Winchester Economic Action Plan (Final Draft) 3 Context of the Economic Action Plan: Housing Inclusive Society Health and Leisure and Wellbeing Recreation Community Freedom Lifelong Strategy from Fear Learning Transport High Quality and Access Environment Economic Prosperity The diagram above shows how Economic Prosperity fits The Economic Action Plan is also linked with the individual into the Community Strategy for Winchester. plans and strategies of the partners involved. These are notably SEEDA’s Regional Economic Strategy, Hampshire “Each theme is linked with all the others” County Council’s Economic Development Strategy, and Winchester City Council’s Corporate Strategy. (A full list of Each of the nine themes are not isolated subjects, but all partners is identified later). impact on one another. A couple of these are mentioned in more detail overleaf. The Community Strategy aims to “The Winchester City Council Corporate Strategy bring all of these aspects together into a coherent vision for aims to achieve a strong and diverse urban and the future of Winchester. The Economic Action Plan also rural economy which builds on local strengths aims to work with the other subject areas to provide a and offers opportunities for all” sustainable plan for the prosperity of the district. Winchester Economic Action Plan (Final Draft) 4 Structure of the Economic Action Plan: The diagram opposite shows the structure of the Economic Community Action Plan. Strategy “A top-down and bottom-up approach” The action plan is outcome focussed; the emphasis is on Economic what partners can do together to make a positive Action Plan Top-down contribution to the prosperity of the district. and bottom-up The action plan discusses a number of issues that need to approach be dealt with, then identifies the actions and ways of Issues to face working to face those issues. (What do we need to achieve?) Actions and principles (How are we going to achieve it?) Winchester Economic Action Plan (Final Draft) 5 Strategic Fit: Below are just a few of the other plans and strategies from Housing Strategy the LSP and from Winchester City Council, which are This includes the provision for affordable housing, which is closely linked with economic prosperity. It is important to vital if employees want to live in reasonable travelling note that this subject cannot be seen in isolation, but brings distance to work. together a wide range of other topics for the benefit of business and prosperity. Tourism Strategy This strategy recognises and promotes tourism employment Air Quality Action Plan opportunities, and increasing visitor spend in the local This plan seeks to bring Winchester in line with national economy. The total spend generated by visitors is £171.3 targets for air quality. The actions identified all have an million per annum (Tourism Strategy 2004-8). impact on local businesses who use transport either for goods delivery, bringing customers in or for employees Hampshire County Council Local Transport Plan getting to work. This holds economic prosperity as a key aim, making provision for access to employment centres and commercial Arts Strategy areas. The creative industries provide employment and stimulate considerable economic activity. Winchester has a thriving Local Area Agreements (LAA) creative industries sector, where artists are often also The priority outcome ‘deliver first class support for entrepreneurs. businesses, promote skills and workforce development and address barriers to employment’ links with this strategy. Biodiversity Action Plan Businesses should be encouraged to take care of their Local Public Service Agreement 2 (LPSA2) natural environment. This plan gives practical advice about Links with target three, to increase the number of VAT the steps any organisation or individual can take. registered businesses in Hampshire. This will be done via the business support objective of this strategy. Children and Young People Plan This emerging plan must take young people’s needs into Partnership for Urban South Hampshire account. In this strategy, that means ensuring they have Aims to achieve 3 to 3.5% per annum economic growth the right skills and opportunities for employment in later life. within South Hampshire. Our actions of increasing enterprise activity will work towards this goal. Community Safety Partnership Businesses can be victims of crime, and some commercial Regional Economic Action Plan activities might encourage or reduce anti social behaviour. Common themes are encourage business start ups and Community safety initiatives therefore affect businesses as support their continued growth, providing a skilled workforce, much as other stakeholders. and tackling transportation and infrastructure issues. Winchester Economic Action Plan (Final Draft) 6 Working Together: This action plan is not a programme of work for the local authority. This is work a wide range of partners across the district have agreed to implement. Partnership working is recognised as a smarter way of working, as it allows us to use expertise we might not have ourselves, and to pool resources to achieve better outputs. Some of our key stakeholders are listed below: South Hampshire Enterprise Agency Business Link Wessex Provides support, advice and training Provides objective and impartial for start up and small businesses. information and advice. University of Winchester Federation for Small Support start up businesses, especially those in the creative industries. Businesses Promotes and protects the interests of the self employed and small traders. Winchester Area Community Action Represents the voluntary and Hampshire County Council community sectors, and champions the Provide a range of services including social inclusion agenda. economic development, and deal with transport issues across the county. Winchester City Centre Partnership Serves the interests of retail, licensed