Gloucester City Council REGENERATION & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2016-2021 FOREWORD Gloucester has come a long way Regeneration takes time and over the last decade, with well over commitment but it can have long £700 million of investment in the lasting impact for civic pride and city’s regeneration, despite the the common good. Regeneration worst recession in sixty years. is worth striving for - together. The Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company I am pleased to partner with the City Council through the deserves a great deal of credit for that success. It work of the Regeneration Advisory Board. We are there to brought the key players from the private, public and encourage, to challenge and to call to action all those who voluntary sectors together round the table, it created can and should work in partnership to achieve a better investor confidence and it secured the public funding future. I am particularly grateful to our key developers and necessary to lever in private capital. investors who are prepared to come together and seek this vision. But there is much more to do in order to make Gloucester the city we know it can be. Overall The cathedral is at the heart of the city and tells its most responsibility for regeneration now rests with the City enduring story. The vision of those who built this icon was Council, but the task of transforming our city is very greater than anything we hope for today but we should much a team game. Working with a range of partners tune into that commitment and sacrificial example in order will be crucial to delivering the outcomes we have set to achieve a future for all that lasts and has a deep rooted for ourselves. integrity. We can do this and we should do this as a kind of ‘coalition of the committed to Gloucester.’ This strategy sets out our ambitions for Gloucester and the way in which we intend to fulfil them. We hope you share our vision and support our plans. We look forward to working with you to turn them into reality. Councillor Paul James The Very Revd Stephen Lake, Dean of Gloucester Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member Chair, Gloucester Regeneration Advisory Board for Regeneration and Economy Gloucester City Council 2 Gloucester Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy Gloucester 3 VISION “Gloucester will be a flourishing, modern and ambitious city, which all residents can enjoy” (City Vision 2012 – 2022) Gloucester’s City Vision was adopted in 2012 after a comprehensive consultation exercise involving over 1,100 people responding with a further 620 people attending various events to discuss and develop the vision. A central part of that Vision is to deliver: • A flourishing economy and city centre • A vibrant evening economy • A city which improves through regeneration and development The City Council’s role will be to create the conditions for growth to deliver our shared vision. This will be achieved through: 1 Clearly identified objectives within this strategy including: a The delivery of major investment sites complemented with smaller scale opportunities b Creating a vibrant city centre area c Delivering jobs and growth d Influencing growth beyond our boundaries 2 Ensuring a positive planning environment 3 Encouraging investors and developers to work together in a complementary way to deliver our overall vision 4 Using our heritage assets to deliver growth, including delivering more activity around our waterways and our historic city centre streets 5 Using public sector assets, influence and expertise to encourage development 6 Working within an engaged and informed political landscape 7 Strong cross-party political support 8 Setting ambitious targets to deliver a stronger future for Gloucester The City Council will work with partners, both public, voluntary and private, to deliver the necessary support network, whether through infrastructure, training and skills, to ensure our city, its population and businesses flourish and become prosperous through increased wellbeing and wealth. Our key message to our communities and private sector partners is that Gloucester is a more confident city than ever. This document shows that we know where we want to go and how we will get there. © Nick Eaketts Maximo Park 4 Gloucester Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy Gloucester 5 KEY FACTS ABOUT GLOUCESTER HISTORY • Gloucester has been variously described as • Gloucester was home to iconic manufacturing firms “The Gateway to the West” and “The Crossroads including the Gloster Aircraft Company and Fielding of England” & Platt • It is the city and county town of Gloucestershire, located • The city contains 707 listed buildings including in the South West of England. The city lies close to the 37 Grade 1’s Welsh border, and is on the River Severn, approximately 32 miles (51 km) north-east of Bristol, and 45 miles • The city is the birth place of Robert Raikes, the founder (72 km) south-southwest of Birmingham of the Sunday School Movement, and John Stafford Smith, who composed the American National Anthem • In 1827 Gloucester became a port city following the completion of the Gloucester and Sharpness canal. On • The historic Roman streets, magnificent Norman completion it was then the longest, deepest and widest Cathedral and Victorian Docks have been used for ship canal in Britain. The Docks contains fifteen Victorian various films and TV productions including Harry Potter warehouses which make up what is Britain’s most inland and Doctor Who. Disney also shot scenes from the port and are now a major tourist attraction sequel to Alice in Wonderland at the Docks. DEMOGRAPHICS • The city has a population of 123,439 (ONS Mid-Year • Gloucester is a relatively young city with 25% of the Population Estimates 2012). It is the most populated population aged 19 and under (highest in the South conurbation within the county of Gloucestershire and West) and 39% under 30. The city is expected to has the highest population density. experience the greatest increase of Gloucestershire’s districts in the number of children and young people • Gloucester will experience the greatest population between 2010 and 2035, with an increase of 16.4% growth of all county districts, expected to increase by 20.1% or 23,800 people between 2010 and 2035 • It is a diverse city, the black and minority ethnic population (BME) stands at 9.8% with approximately 100 languages and dialects spoken 6 Gloucester Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy Gloucester 7 ECONOMY • Gloucester is home to world leading advanced • Gloucester attracts 5.9 million visitor trips each year. UK Competitiveness Index 2013 shows Gloucester Centre for Cities 2014: engineering companies providing cutting edge technical Annually, visitor spend is £207 million is ranked: the city is making large improvements: products and services e.g. Prima Dental • To date the city has secured over £700 million of private • 19th in the index ahead of locations such • 6th (out of 64 cities) for having the highest number of • Gloucester has a strong finance and insurance cluster sector investment, weathering the economic recession as Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff and patents approved (up from 10th in Centre for Cities including being the location for the HQ of the specialist and now building on the recovery Newcastle-Upon-Tyne report 2013) insurance company Ecclesiastical Insurance Group • Gloucester is a place for business, recognised by external Experian (2012): • 2nd (out of 64 cities) for having the highest • The city supports a growing cluster of information commentators employment rate with 77.8% between Jul 2012 security, web hosting, CAD/CAM development, defence • Gloucester is ranked 11th out of 324 local authorities and Jun 2013 (up from 12th in Centre for Cities communications and security, ICT infrastructure Duport Business Confidence Report shows: for growing its business base between 2010 and 2012, report 2013) development and IT content management businesses the biggest growth in the South West region • 448 new companies set up between January and June • 2nd (out of 63 cities) for the highest housing • The creative community has grown rapidly in recent years 2013 - more than any other half year on record and stock growth. Among the top-placed cities, only with the Blackfriars and Westgate Street areas having a 10% rise on the same period in 2012 Santander Town and City Index 2012: five (Swindon, Milton Keynes, Gloucester, London, established themselves as a hub for creative businesses. Peterborough) have experienced housing supply The city has also hosted some cutting edge arts festivals • 2011 and 2012 were record years for company • Gloucester is a leading destination for business by growth in accordance to their population growth rate including JOLT, Crucible and Paint Jam, and other festivals registrations in Gloucester when compared to ranking the city 18th out of 74 UK cities for business including Tall Ships and Quays events any year in history • Gloucester is in the top-ten cities where small businesses are investing in high growth strategies. • The city has a strong independent retail and leisure sector with over 100 independent city centre shops 8 Gloucester Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy Regeneration and Economic Development Strategy Gloucester 9 EDUCATION SPORT • The city boasts high performing schools and over 17,000 • Over 30% of Gloucester’s