Report No 93/07 ANGUS COUNCIL

INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES COMMITTEE 25 JANUARY 2007

SUBJECT: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 10 NOVEMBER 2006 – 11 JANUARY 2007

REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES

Abstract: This Report outlines the highlights and achievements of the Economic Development Division for the period 10 November 2006 – 11 January 2007.

1 RECOMMENDATION

1.1 It is recommended that the Committee note the contents of this Report.

2 INTRODUCTION

2.1 This Report outlines the Highlights and Achievements of the Economic Development Division for the period 10 November 2006 – 11 January 2007.

3 HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS – 10 NOVEMBER 2006 – 11 JANUARY 2007

♦ Property - 87.6% Property – 87.6% of the Council's industrial/commercial units are occupied (85 units occupied, 12 vacant). 82.6% of total notional annual rental income is currently being achieved.

♦ Land - The sale of the Council's remaining developable land on Broomfield Industrial Estate, Montrose, was concluded in December 2006. The plot has been sold to one of the Council's existing commercial tenants, and will be used for the construction of a new HQ and also for the development of speculative starter units.

♦ Development Enquiry – the Economic Development Division is continuing discussion with a large call centre operator interested in establishing a new facility in Arbroath. As the discussions are at an advanced stage it was agreed to undertake a recruitment campaign to establish a register of people interested in call centre work. At the time of writing this report around 350 people have registered on the internet (within one week of the initiative being published).

♦ Brechin Call Centre. Work started on the call centre conversion of Unit 5b Brechin Business Park at the end of November. A mid-February completion date is projected with the new tenant, Journeycall Ltd, due to take up occupancy on 1 March. Up to 60 new jobs will be created.

♦ Advance Units, Arbroath. Negotiations are underway to sell 1 1/2 acres on Arbroath Enterprise Park to a local joinery business. As well as constructing a unit for their own use, the firm is aiming to build a range of speculative units for let, further enhancing Arbroath's economic infrastructure.

♦ AngusProperty.com - In the period between 10 November 2006 and 11 January 2007, AngusProperty.com has processed a total of 554 property 2 Report No 93/07

searches, resulting in particulars for individual properties being examined 717 times. Currently there are 154 property particulars listed on the site. The site continues to be very popular, and 2006 saw it achieve significant increases in usage. There were 3,727 property searches conducted, an increase of 39% in comparison to the 2,286 searches ran in 2005. There were also 28,532 property particulars examined in 2006, an increase of 42% from the 16,563 viewed in 2005.

♦ European Structural Funds 2000-2006 - A total of 76 projects have been submitted by Angus Council since January 2000 (the first rounds of applications for ESF and ERDF projects were opened for submission in September 2000 and February 2001 respectively). The total amount approved to date amounts to £4,500,323. A further 36 projects have received grant funding with Angus Council providing match funding. This brings the total amount approved in Angus to date to £7,248,638.

♦ East of Objective 2 Programme 2000-2006 - Approval received for Scotland’s Tartan Day – National Pilot and for additional monies for Arbroath harbour Tourism Infrastructure, Arbroath Harbour Tourism Facilities and Scotland’s Tartan Day Angus.

♦ Scottish Objective 3 Programme 2000-2006 - Approval received for additional monies for Making Connections (Education)

♦ Structural Funds Post 2006 – The Angus Council response to consultation on Future of Structural Funds programmes in Lowlands & Uplands Scotland 2007 – 2013 has been submitted. The Head of Economic Development participated in a three person delegation to the EU in Brussels to lobby for the East of Scotland area. This resulted in a letter being sent by all Scottish MEP’s to the Scottish Executive reinforcing a number of key points made in the Response to the EU Consultation document.

♦ Angus Council Community Grant Scheme - 84 applications received since 1 April 2006: 59 approved totalling £64,280

♦ Angus Funding Website - Angus4Community.com

December Total to Date 2006 (since July 2005) New Registered Users 2 262 Number of Visits 87 2342 Number of Funding Searches 15 1068

The most searched for funds were the Angus Council Common Good Fund and the Angus Council Community Grant Scheme. Council wards with most number of registered users continue to be: Forfar Central, Forfar West. Letham & Friockheim, Brothock and Brechin South Esk.

♦ External Funding Liaison: meetings have been held in connection with Angus Council Multicultural event, Lunan Park, Montrose Golf Links, Montrose FC, Angus Credit Union, Arbroath Smokie Blues Club, Brechin Arts Festival, 3 Report No 93/07

Arbroath Academy, Mitchell Centre – Montrose, Tay-Screen, Regenerate! North Arbroath. 19 additional queries have been dealt with.

Attendance at East of Scotland European Consortium (ESEC) Brussels Familiarisation event by Vice Convenor Infrastructure Services and External Funding Manager.

♦ Angus Portal Website - November/December 2006 - The Angus Web Portal has entered the second phase of content upgrade, with another set of new Home page designs, which will alternate each month, implemented in December. A significant effort is being made in relation to golf tourism given the Open 2007. Key results are as follows.

- Google Pay Per Click Campaign brought in 9% of all visits in November. - Average visits Nov/Dec 11,400 per month

Total hits 2006 = 4.7 million Total visits 2006 = 132,000 Average visits 2006 = 11,000 per month Average visits January/June 2006 = 8,500 per month Average visits July/December 2006 = 13,700 per month Annual range - from 6000 (Jan 06) to peak of 16000 (Aug 06)

- Search engine optimisation achievements are up 29% month on month in Nov/Dec. - angusahead.com appears on page 1 of search engine results for 191 key expressions - up 43% in November - The Portal currently has approximately 3616 live pages of editorial and listings, and over 4800 pages have been created since it was launched - Hits in November and December number = 995,806 to 26 December. The Portal has received almost 5 million hits in 2006 - Page views per visit in November = 8 pages per visit, up from 2.5 in May, shows increased 'stickiness' of site. Average of 5.91 pages viewed per visit for year - The statistical increases achieved over the last six months represent a major lever in engaging with, and further penetrating the business market.

♦ Angus Ambassador Awards - The 2006 Angus Ambassador of the Year is chair of Angus College Board of Management and former chief executive of Angus Council Sandy Watson OBE. He was appointed by the First Minister to the Scottish Funding Council - the national body controlling the £1.3billion further and higher education budget for Scotland.

The judges acknowledged that his deep commitment for his adopted county, his ongoing passion, and his continuing desire to exploit every opportunity both locally and nationally, for the benefit of Angus made him a worthy winner.

Sandy received this ultimate accolade, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, at the glittering awards dinner on Friday 24 November presented by the Angus Ahead Campaign and presided over by Brechiner Andrea Brymer of STV’s North Tonight news programme. 4 Report No 93/07

The other winners were

• Business Ambassador Milton Haugh Farm Shop - an enterprising diversification initiative by local farmers the Greys, which has grown into two retail outlets at Carmyllie and Monifieth, and an expanding chilled food business

• Community Ambassador The Association of Residents of Cliffburn & Hayshead who by working together has raised £300,000 to build an award winning Community Park and bring their area to national recognition

• Cultural Ambassador Donald Ford who traced through word, photography and film the story of Carnoustie Golf Links over 500 years, together with the community that developed around it, through a new book that will be used to promote the county during The Open 2007

• International Ambassador John M Henderson & Co Ltd who have won three orders totalling £20million - the largest ever contracts for a Scottish firm in Korea.

• Tourism Ambassador Strathmore Vintage Vehicle Club who established their annual Transport Extravaganza, now in its 33rd year, as a flagship event attracting over 20,000 visitors from through the UK

• Youth Ambassador 17-year old Andrew Mitchell who clinched the 2006 World Conventional Ploughing Champion title in Ireland at his first attempt and goes forward to compete in Europe. ♦ Business Gateway International - Tayside - The Overseas Trade Promotion Schedule for 2007/2008 which contributes to the Business Gateway International-Tayside Operating Plan has been completed. The Schedule which highlights continuing work with China and also the Baltic States will be submitted for First Minister's approval following Committee approval.

♦ Abertay Centre For The Environment - A training day by Abertay Centre for the Environment (ACE) to business development staff was successfully undertaken. ACE, who are based in the research centre of the University of Abertay, offers assistance to small and medium enterprises (SME's) to access practical expert help in developing new, more environmentally friendly products and services. Areas of expertise include composting and biowastes, wastewater treatment and environmental policy and regulation.

♦ Farewell Visit Of Chinese Consul General, - The farewell visit to Angus of Madam Guo, Chinese Consul General, Edinburgh on 12 December was successfully undertaken. The visit included a tour of Glamis Castle, culminating in a reception and farewell lunch in Forfar by Provost Middleton and elected members.

♦ Unit 3, Sir William Smith Road, Kirkton, Arbroath - The sale of this unit to Mechserv, the existing tenant, was finally completed 3 January. This allows the business to remain in Arbroath and creates the opportunity for further expansion. There are plans to extend the building in the near future with the prospect of additional employment. 5 Report No 93/07

♦ Declaration of Arbroath - one of Scotland's Most Important Events - The signing of the Declaration of Arbroath was listed as the second most important event in Scottish history, following the Wars of Independence to which it was inextricably linked, in a St Andrew's Day top ten poll conducted by the BBC. The comments of Professor Ted Cowan, who contributed to the debate can be accessed on http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/scotlandshistory/

♦ Cross Party Group Reception - Scotland's Tartan Day Cross Party Group hosted their annual reception in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 14th November. Over 120 MSP's and guests from Local Authorities, the media and Scottish business enjoyed music from leading young Scottish violinist Laura McGhee of Monifeith, a performance by the Arbroath Abbey Pageant Society, and a video message of support from Tennessee Congressman, John Duncan Jr. who sponsored the resolution to make Tartan Day a national US holiday in the House of Representatives. Angus Council gave an update on progress on their 2020 vision of establishing a global celebration of Tartan Day in the year 2020 - the 700th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath - with Scotland at its very heart.

♦ The Angus Council/Scottish Enterprise Tayside Strategy Group – met on 27 November 2006. The SET representative Gill Farrell confirmed that the SE Network focus was now on metropolitan Scotland which recognised the role of cities as the drivers of the economy but also recognised the contribution of the rural hinterland to city regions. Scottish Enterprise had identified six priority industries with significant growth potential aligned with global markets on which its resources would be concentrated. These are life sciences, energy, electronic markets, financial services, tourism and food and drink, three of the main sectoral focuses of the developing Economic Development Strategy for Angus. The elected members present sought a paper considering the purpose of future strategic meetings considering how relationships between the two organizations would develop in the future for the next meeting to be held late March or early April.

♦ The Final Draft - of the Economic Development section of the Infrastructure Service Plan 2007/08 was completed in January 2007.

♦ The New Angus & Chamber – was launched at the Hilton Hotel on Friday 8 December 2006. The Chamber was registered as a limited company early in January 2007.

♦ The Angus Employability Framework Strategic Working Group – held its first meeting on 15 December 2006. The Committee is considering a report (Report 97/07) on the recommendations of this group to employ a consultant to help to develop an Employability Framework within Angus.

♦ A Full Staff Meeting of the Economic Development Division – took place on 21 December 2006 at Pictavia. The meeting heard presentations on the ongoing development of Angus Portal, on the Working for Families Initiative and on work on the land and property portfolio. Issues concerning the forthcoming relocation of the unit, the need to reconsider its health and safety 6 Report No 93/07

practice, the Service Plan and the budget setting process were also considered.

♦ 2007 Angus Glens Walking Festival - The fifth Angus Glens Walking Festival will be held from Thursday 31 May to Sunday 3 June 2007. The Festival will once again be based in Kirriemuir, also known as “Gateway to the Glens”, and there will be 24 guided walks of different grades over the four days.

♦ Development of the Walking Market in Angus - Blue Toucan (the project consultant) is to plan a series of innovation workshops for local tourism and hospitality businesses, community organisations and landowners to identify and develop visitor products that can be marketed to increase the size of the walking market in Angus.

4 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

4.1 There are no financial implications arising from this Report.

5 HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS

5.1 There are no Human Rights implications arising from this report.

6 CONSULTATION

6.1 The Chief Executive, Director of Corporate Services the Head of Finance and the Head of Law and Administration have been consulted in the preparation of this Report.

7 CONCLUSION

7.1 The summary of key highlights and achievements given in this Report outlines the wide-ranging workload of the Economic Development Division undertaken with the support of various other departments and external agencies.

ERIC S LOWSON DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES

NOTE No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (other than any containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to any material extent in preparing the above report.

ECDEV/DV/LJP 28 December 2006