Leader's Report
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Item no 7.1 THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL Leader's Report City of Edinburgh Council 25 June 2009 Edinburgh Loses out on over fl02million Business Rates Income Edinburgh has generated over f 102 million for the rest of the country through its contribution to the Business rates pool in 2008/09from the f280 million collected from businesses within the city. Edinburgh is, by far, the place that contributes most to the monies spent across the country. Edinburgh has delivered over f 1 billion to the rest of Scotland over the last 12 years. During a recession, more than ever, priority must be given to wealth creation. For Scotland's future prosperity we must reward, rather than penalise, economic growth. lncentivising success, by allowing Edinburgh to reinvest the increased wealth it creates, would enable the city to continuously improve and to attract inward investment and encourage business. I look forward to our discussions with The Scottish Government on how Edinburgh's progress can best be supported and sustained for the good of all of Scotland. Protecting and Promoting the City Partnership Workinq Since the banking crisis hit the headlines, the Convener of Economic Development and I, together or separately, have had many meetings with all the main financial sector employees in Edinburgh. We have been encouraged by how constructive these meetings have been. On behalf of the Council, we have stressed that we are keen to ensure that Edinburgh's reputation is not permanently damaged by what has been happening in the banking world; that HQ functions should be retained in Edinburgh; and that every effort should be made to minimise job losses in the Edinburgh city region. The transparency and openness of these discussions led to us holding a meeting in mid-June attended by key players from the banks and ancillary financial sector organisations, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Jobcentre Plus, Careers Scotland, Stevenson College, Scottish Financial Enterprise and the Council. 1 The purpose of the meeting was to see how we could all work together to face the challenges of the recession and counter its effects on individuals and businesses. Information was shared about the Council-led Economic Action Resilience Network (EARN) which will see us work with partners to builder a stronger economy, and on the Scottish Government initiated Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) which provides a rapid response to the announcement of major redundancies. It was agreed by all who attended that a comprehensive range of services and initiatives have been put in place to support those employees who face redundancy, not only in the finance sector but across the city. Although these are undoubtedly difficult times, we are confident that through working closely with our partners we can help people make the choices that are right for them as they seek to re-enter the workforce. Together we can limit the impact of the recession and build solid foundations for Edinburgh’s future success. Festival of Place Makinq On the 21 May, I hosted the first Festival of Place Making at the National Gallery on the Mound to mark and celebrate the end of Sir Terry Farrell’s five years as Edinburgh’s City Design Champion. The theme of the day was the value of place. Sir Simon Milton, the Deputy Mayor of London, gave an insight into his city’s approach to place and Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council spoke of his efforts to enhance Manchester’s performance and the value of place in the context of city management. Lord Falconer, Chair of the newly formed Newcastle-Gateshead City Development Company, told his story from an Edinburgh lad’s perspective and shared his belief that place and identity are important elements of regeneration. Finally John Thorpe, Leed’s Civic Architect, shared with intense passion his thoughts on delivering place making in his city. The event was well attended with over 150 delegates from a variety of backgrounds and the day was intense and skilfully managed. Electronic voting was deployed to capture the day’s outputs and I have invited Sir Terry to present these and summarise his five years as City Design Champion at the Council meeting in August. Matt Murphy - Architectural Student of the Year I was also delighted during the Festival of Place Making seminar to acknowledge the success of Edinburgh Final Year Architecture Student, Matt Murphy, in the Archprix International Architecture Awards 2009. Economic Resilience - Economy Watch The Edinburgh Economy Watch is a monthly report published by the Economic Development Unit which tracks how global and national conditions are affecting the capital’s economy. Information relating to the last 12 months allows readers to understand when and to what extent various aspects of the economy are being impacted. It can be effectively used as a barometer, offering the opportunity to detect signs of change. Trends are benchmarked against similar UK cities where possible, 2 providing a perspective of Edinburgh's relative performance. Economy Watch is available at www.edin burgh .gov.u Weconomicdata. Edinburgh International Conference Centre EICC's expansion plans received a boost in May with the submission of a planning application to create additional function space, cafe and breakout areas along with a commercial office development and retail space. The scheme comprises a new atrium building attached to the existing centre providing much needed meeting, reception and registration space with a delegate cafe and two levels of stand alone office space. The new space will allow ElCC to maintain its world class ranking in the highly competitive conference industry. ElCC has already contributed over f 233 million to the City economy. The expanded centre will allow ElCC to host a wider range of events from conferences with larger exhibition requirements and delegate numbers, stand alone exhibitions and banqueting to sporting events and cultural events. The scheme is scheduled for completion early 201 3 and is expected to generate around E89 million per annum to the Edinburgh economy. Maior Developments Despite the current economic climate, the Council's planning service remains busy with a steady stream of applications. Already this year, there have been a number of consents issued for significant housing developments, including affordable housing schemes. A number of new hotel developments in and around the city centre have also been approved. One of the city's most significant development proposals in recent years is the redevelopment of the St James Centre and planning permission for this project was given earlier this month. While the overall number of applications is lower than in previous years, developers are also revisiting and revising existing permissions. This is partly due to the Council's commitment in our Economic Resilience Action Plan to find ways to assist the development community and allow development to proceed. The Council continues to encourage high quality development, and we will work positively with developers and their agents to secure this. Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance (DEMA) DEMA is a public and private sector project designed to bring together, and exploit, the synergies of a range of organisations and agencies to present our city to the markets we need to reach. DEMA has been taking an active role in promoting and progressing projects that are important to Edinburgh's economic development. This includes working through the Economic Active Resilience Network (EARN) to encourage businesses to work together to survive the recession; working with the Project Edinburgh team to launch a competition to find suitable tenders for the use of the former Royal High School; and, in partnership with the Filmhouse and Edinburgh Film Focus, working on the Made in Edinburgh project to showcase the creative industries within Edinburgh. 3 A Bluetooth technology trial is planned for the end of July to communicate welcome to Edinburgh messages. All compatible mobile phones will be able to receive communications and it is intended to activate Bluetooth zones at Edinburgh Airport, Waverley and Haymarket Train Stations and St Andrew Square bus station. Tourism in Edinburgh is bucking the trend as more visitors take advantage of the great opportunities available in the city. Statistics for April show a rise of 6% in hotel occupancy to 78%, the biggest increase of any UK city and equally impressive is a rise of 18% in room occupancy for Guest Houses and Bed and Breakfasts. A recent Travelodge survey identified Edinburgh as one of the top 3 destinations for 2009, anticipating a 19% increase in visitors compared with 2008. Edinburgh Castle welcomed 230,000 visitors in April and May a 10% increase on 2008 and Edinburgh was the only BAA airport to record a growth in May with passenger numbers rising by 1.4% against a company wide reduction of 7.3%. Edinburgh’s reputation as a global centre for business tourism has been reinforced by the recent announcement that the capital has advanced from 36‘h to 28thplace in the latest world rankings, placing Edinburgh second only to London in terms of UK cities. Organisations staging conferences this summer include the International Association of Forensic Mental Health and the International Society of Developmental Biologists. Business tourism contributes approximately f300 million to the local economy. A City of Events and Activity The Gathering 2009 The Gathering 2009 is a celebration of Scotland’s culture, both contemporary and tradition and is a highlight of Homecoming Scotland 2009. Thousands of people are expected to travel from across the world for this unique family party in Holyrood Park on 25/26 July. There will be stalls, Highland Games, traditional music and dancing and examples of Scotland’s high quality produce and merchandise.