Municipality of North Middlesex 2016
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Source: Municipality of North Middlesex 2016 Contents 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................................2 1.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 1.2 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 10 1.3 METHODOLOGY 14 2 BACKGROUND REVIEW ................................................................................................................................. 16 2.1 CURRENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY FRAMEWORK 16 2.2 RELEVANT STRATEGIES AND PLANS REVIEWED 18 2.3 COMMON THREADS ANALYSIS 19 3 THE NORTH MIDDLESEX ECONOMY ........................................................................................................... 23 3.1 KEY SECTOR ANALYSIS 26 4 REGIONAL AND COMMUNITY ASSETS ........................................................................................................ 33 4.1 REGIONAL ASSETS 33 4.2 COMMUNITY ASSETS 34 4.3 CULTURAL ASSETS 37 4.4 SCHOOLS, RECREATION FACILITIES AND PARK ASSETS 39 4.5 DEVELOPMENT LANDS 42 5 VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY ......................................................................................................................... 50 5.1 KEY FINDINGS 50 6 COMMUNITY SURVEY .................................................................................................................................... 56 6.1 TAPPING THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY 57 6.2 UNDERSTANDING PERCEPTIONS OF NORTH MIDDLESEX 61 6.3 DEFINING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 63 i North Middlesex Economic Development Strategy 2015 – 2020 6.4 STRENGTHS FOR BUILDING A STRONGER ECONOMY IN NORTH MIDDLESEX 65 6.5 CHALLENGES/BARRIERS TO BUILDING A STRONGER ECONOMY IN NORTH MIDDLESEX 66 6.6 SATISFACTION WITH MUNICIPAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES 69 6.7 IDENTIFYING PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE GROWTH IN NORTH MIDDLESEX 71 6.8 MOVING FORWARD ON PRIORITIES 72 7 COMPETITIVENESS ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................................. 75 7.1 STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND THREATS (SWOT) ANALYSIS 75 7.2 COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 84 8 STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS AND TAKING ACTION ........................................................................................ 86 8.1 AN ECONOMIC VISION FOR NORTH MIDDLESEX 86 8.2 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES 87 8.3 ACTION PLAN AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES 89 8.4 IMPLEMENTATION TABLE 111 9 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................ 113 10 APPENDIX: TECHNICAL REPORT ............................................................................................................... 116 10.1 STRATEGIC INNOVATION IN MUNICIPALITIES 116 10.2 POLICY AND BACKGROUND REVIEW 121 10.3 DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS 142 10.4 OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE 148 10.5 BUSINESS PATTERNS ASSESSMENT 159 10.6 COMMUNITY CONSULTATIONS 167 10.7 STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS 181 ii North Middlesex Economic Development Strategy 2015 – 2020 1) Introduction Introduction Executive Summary Terms and Definitions Methodology 1 North Middlesex Economic Development Strategy 2015 – 2020 Source: Municipality of North Middlesex 2016 Source: Municipality of North Middlesex 2016 1 Introduction The Municipality of North Middlesex has a history that is firmly rooted in agriculture and farming. This, in part, defines both the local economy and the labour market, and has influenced both the businesses and the people who make up the community. Amalgamated in 2001 by bringing together the municipalities of the Village of Ailsa Craig; Town of Parkhill; Town of McGillivray; and, the Townships of East and West Williams, the municipality has a unique offering for its size in that there are two distinct downtown, commercial areas in the larger communities of Parkhill and Ailsa Craig. However, over the last two census periods (2001 to 2011) North Middlesex has experienced on-going population declines from 6,901 in 2001 to 6,658 in 2011. This decline of 3.5%, although not significant, is indicative that North Middlesex is facing challenges in a changing economy. While agriculture will remain an integral component of the local economy, it is necessary to explore and pursue new and innovative ways to diversify the local economic base. With the service and knowledge-based economy becoming a major driver of economic growth across North America, the roles of cities and regions are being reshaped and redefined in a shifting global economy. Cities and regions are emerging as key locations for finance and major centres for production and innovation, as well as research and development. The proximity of North Middlesex to the City of London provides the community the potential to adapt and leverage these changes for its own economic development needs. As major urban centres continue to expand outward, so to do the opportunities for rural municipalities to increase their population base and develop the local economy to support increased commercial and employment opportunities. This is an important factor as communities such as North Middlesex strive to retain their youth populations and attract new residents. Being conveniently positioned along main routes from more urbanized areas to key travel, recreation, and tourism destinations (e.g., Pinery Park, Lambton Shores, and Grand Bend among others) the municipality can benefit from leveraging its location, and explore opportunities to expand its commercial offerings and local amenities. Further, a lower cost of living, property, and a high quality, semi-rural to country lifestyle makes North Middlesex an appealing home location for families, professionals, and the self- employed looking to strike a work/life balance. The process of economic development is multi-disciplinary and multifaceted. It requires a collective effort and a team approach to derive the most beneficial results. The Municipality of North Middlesex is part of a two-tier government environment, and benefits from its inclusion in a broader regional and the southwestern Ontario economy. The long term success of the municipality will be tied not only to its ability to differentiate itself and understand and promote its unique value proposition, there needs to be a balance that compliments the greater economy it operates within. This will strengthen the municipality’s growth potential. 2 North Middlesex Economic Development Strategy 2015 – 2020 The North Middlesex Economic Development Strategy 2015 – 2020 provides the Municipality with the research, knowledge, and recommended initiatives to chart North Middlesex’s economic future, and establishes a shared, community-based economic vision and strategic priorities that outline the necessary steps that can be taken to bolster the community’s future growth and prosperity. It is a living document that should be reviewed regularly, and re-evaluated after its five year lifecycle to explore significant changes in the community, and to validate emerging and existing priorities. The strategy was developed through a lens that explored innovative approaches to thinking and to future implementation. This is important as North Middlesex is operating in an increasingly competitive environment where municipalities must explore new ways of approaching both service delivery and community sustainability. This thinking has been incorporated into the strategic planning process and balanced against what is realistically achievable. The goal is a “made in North Middlesex strategy”, that draws from best and promising practices and applies a local perspective that builds on local assets and strengths. 3 North Middlesex Economic Development Strategy 2015 – 2020 1.1 Executive Summary The Municipality of North Middlesex has chosen to undertake its first formal Economic Development Strategy in order to address the challenges the community is facing (aging and declining population, youth outmigration, unrecognized development potential, declining agricultural employment, limited commercial businesses, and underperforming Downtowns). It is intended that this will be achieved by stimulating economic development opportunity through business retention and expansion, residential and commercial development, population and investment attraction, and building on the strong community networks and agricultural industry base. The North Middlesex Economic Development Strategy 2015 – 2020 was created using a local level perspective, and includes significant levels of community and stakeholder engagement that ensures its findings, recommendations, actions, and conclusions are based in evidence. It contains a shared understanding among local community, business, and political leaders and reflects the priorities of economic development opportunities and goals for the future prosperity of North Middlesex. An important aspect of the Strategy is the establishment of an economic vision that will carry the municipality through the life of the plan and act as a rallying call to all community members and stakeholders as to what and where North Middlesex sees itself in the future. The following vision reflects the input, values, desires, and aspirations of the community: North Middlesex is known for its diversified, export- focused agricultural sector; two vibrant Downtown commercial centres underpinned by small business and entrepreneurship; and ongoing residential and employment growth supporting an increase in population and economic opportunity. 4 North Middlesex Economic Development Strategy 2015 – 2020 Based on the evidence