Economic Growth Advisors Programme Bolsover District Council and North East Derbyshire District Council Growth strategy development Key themes covered by the case study An economic growth strategy Business engagement and retention Infrastructure development Inward investment Regeneration and housing Background In April 2011 Bolsover and North East Derbyshire joined forces to create a ‘Strategic Alliance’. The partnership was formed in response to the reduction in Government grant funding to local Councils. By working more closely together the Councils aim to share some of their costs, saving enough money to help maintain quality services for local people and keep Council Tax bills as low as possible. An initial three year joint target was agreed to seek £1.5 million in savings through a number of initiatives that included reducing senior manager costs, joint procurement, sharing assets and exploring whether services could be provided jointly. As at March 2014 the joint savings achieved are £1,627,000. Both Councils are confident that they are stronger together than alone based on our achievements to date. Both Councils are committed to supporting our communities through the challenges faced. Rationale for the project Like many authorities, Bolsover District Council and North East Derbyshire District Council have been considering the degree to which we want to seek growth, and the nature of that growth, within our Districts. With this in mind both Councils undertook two parallel LGA Peer Challenges in July 2013. The Peer Challenge confirmed our thinking that ensuring a strong local economy is important and that a coherent vision and understanding on how each District is planning for growth is critical. But of course the environment within which both Councils work on its growth agenda is complex. Each Council was ambitious to develop plans that are right for their District. Both Councils also face significant financial challenges and the peer challenge therefore focused on the development of a sustainable financial strategy which included two main elements: Promoting economic growth. Achieving further efficiencies/savings from shared management and services particularly through the Strategic Alliance arrangements. Our project The two Councils were seeking support to assist officers to develop a Growth Strategy (joint or separate dependent on the local assessment) that helped us address the opportunities identified by the LGA Peer Review. We expected the strategy to have measurable but achievable targets for the Councils to work towards over the coming years. Within this strategy we expected recommendations on what would be the best vehicle to deliver the Growth Strategy for the two Councils. We also expected the strategy to identify the financial __________________________________________________ Page 2 of 5 resources required to successfully deliver the recommendations. Long term we expected the Growth Strategy to help us maximise leverage from the LEPs; develop a business facing culture; successfully package and source finance for local infrastructure development; enable us to unlock stalled residential sites which already have planning approval; sustain existing and new business growth and create better quality jobs. The development of the Growth Strategy has been sponsored by the Joint Chief Executive, who has been the project sponsor throughout. Delivery of our project Our bid for financial support from the LGA Economic Growth Advisor Programme was confirmed as successful and work started on appointing a suitable Economic Growth Advisor from a shortlist provided by the LGA. Members and Senior Officers, including the CEO interviewed a number of consultants and appointed David Howells from Rubicon Regeneration in November 2013. Our hope was that by drawing on the skills and expertise of a specialist advisor we would produce a robust Growth Strategy which would help us realise our ambitions and turn our vision into something tangible for both Councils. The following was the agreed brief for the 14 day consultancy work: Specific tasks include: . Develop a robust evidence base to guide growth priorities . Ensure that the strategy aligns to LEPs priorities, including future funding opportunities from the EU SIF and Growth Plans . Identify short, medium and long term growth priorities . Make recommendations on the best vehicle to deliver the Growth Strategy . Review best practice . Produce an action plan for the implementation of the strategy . Identify and consult with key stakeholders (internal and external) within the area. The Growth Strategy will be an ‘active’ document and recognise the distinctiveness and priorities of the two local authorities. It was agreed with the consultant that the Council’s would provide full administration support to the development of the strategy to ensure best use of time. During the course of the development of the Growth Strategy we gathered together a wealth of information already available at both Councils to assist in the evidence base. We held workshops with officers and members. We consulted with the local business community, partners and LEPs. __________________________________________________ Page 3 of 5 One of the challenges we had to overcome was to ensure that both officers and members understood that this was not the development of a ‘traditional’ economic growth strategy. The Growth Strategy needed to focus on growing the economy within each district, but also on how this strategy could support the ongoing need for financial sustainability through New Homes Bonus and retention of business rates. This was also a different way of thinking for the Council and our consultant. A further challenge for the two Councils was if we should have one strategy or two separate strategies. Although there are many similarities between the two Council’s both have unique selling points and different challenges. As we progressed we decided that the main bulk of the strategy text would be joint, but separate action plans would be developed for each Council to reflect the different approaches as we move forward. Key findings and outputs Following consultation the joint Growth Strategy was approved by members at each Council in June 2013. This was slightly behind our original planned target date but we needed to ensure that our strategy was in line with the final Strategic Economic Plan for the LEPs (SCR and D2N2). The finished strategy provides detail on the scope, evidence base, financial drivers, our vision/growth ambition, our priorities and implementation plans. We have identified our three strategic priorities as: Supporting Enterprise: maintaining and growing the business base. Enabling Housing Growth: increasing the supply, quality and range of housing to meet the needs of a growing population and support economic growth. Unlocking Development Potential: unlocking the capacity of major employment sites. Each Council then has a high level action plan listing the major Transformational Intervention Projects which will deliver the priorities. Business cases will now be produced to detail how each project will be delivered. The North East Derbyshire Growth Strategy can be found at http://www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk/about-north-east-derbyshire/news-homepage/bulletins/press- releases/new-strategy-aims-to-unlock-growth-potential/ The Bolsover Growth Strategy can be found at http://www.bolsover.gov.uk/images/G/Growth_Strategy.pdf __________________________________________________ Page 4 of 5 Examples of the transformational intervention projects include: Sharpening our approach to Key Account Management. Developing and implementing a local internationalisation programme in order to expand trade. Preparing a rural development action plan. Launching a local Business Growth Hub connected to the LEP Growth Hub. Delivery of major housing/ mixed use regeneration projects. Construction of new council homes. Pre and post planning support for developers. Rationalisation of council owned assets. Economic benefits As yet it is too early to identify what the direct benefits of the Growth Strategy will be as these will be defined within each business case. We firmly believe though that we have identified a way forward to articulate to our partners our ambitions and plans with a view to improving collaboration and maximising leverage, whilst maximising growth through New Homes Bonus and the Business Rates Retention Scheme. One positive early outcome is that during the consultation with local businesses we were able to engage with existing clients but also forge new contacts with a number of other firms. We are now continuing to work with these businesses to offer our help and support. In general the business community were supportive of our Growth Strategy and welcomed the support on offer. Following on from the development of the Growth Strategy both Councils will be reviewing their respective Corporate Plans to ensure that sufficient emphasis is placed on the recommendations within the Growth Strategy. We have recently focused on the development of the Growth Strategy in the Council’s newsletters. These can be found at http://www.bolsover.gov.uk/images/I/Intouch_28.pdf and http://www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk/about-north-east-derbyshire/news-homepage/the-news- audio/?assetdet238891=56118 Anyone wanting further information should contact: Jane Foley Joint Assistant Director - Customer Service and Improvement Bolsover District Council/North East Derbyshire District Council 01246 242343 (Bolsover) 01246 217029 (North East Derbyshire) [email protected] (Both authorities) __________________________________________________ Page 5 of 5 .