District Matters

Economic Development high in the new agenda

June 2019

Well, that's the elections over for four years. The main issue on the doorstep, Brexit or lack of it, remains unresolved. From my viewpoint as Leader, this means that central government has little bandwidth for anything else. We have therefore just got to get on with things.

If I take a look at the next four years, then perhaps the main issue nationally is the slow growth of the economy. According to the Bank of England, the size of the UK economy increased by 0.3% in the three months to February, a similar rate of growth to the previous three months. That growth rate is relatively subdued; it is around half the rate of growth seen on average over the past five years. Many people believe that we are a rich country; although certainly not poor, we are nowhere near as rich as we would like to think. In GDP per head, a good measure, we currently rank 39th and are falling down the rankings.

I cannot help but think that this slow rate of growth will put pressure on spending.

Our present estimate is that by 2023/24 we will need to have closed a funding gap of at least £3 million, and I do not think that the squeeze will stop there. Before our budget proposals in November we will need to have mapped out how we will tackle this funding gap. There will almost certainly be some tough decisions, but ducking them will make the issue worse.

Over the past few years our local economy has performed very well, which creates affluence, jobs and revenue through business rates. Obviously we want to ensure that our economy continues to outperform. To help with this we play a very full role in the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP). There are three main initiatives we are working hard on:

• The compulsory purchase of Wellesbourne Airfield, because we think it is of strategic significance in enabling economic growth. Not least because building houses on it would remove employment land from use and there is a shortage of land for those uses in the area. This in itself is a major issue we need to tackle.
• Providing whatever assistance we can to help the University of Warwick develop the 192 hectare Wellesbourne Campus. Over the last few months we have developed a close and productive working relationship with the university. We expect this to continue and deliver benefits within the next couple of years.
• We are continuing to deepen relationships with China. This is important not only because we are an internationally recognised tourist destination but also as a way of marketing the wider Coventry and Warwickshire region for inward investment. In November, our Chairman Christopher Kettle received an award in Wuhan on our behalf, and in April we opened the Peony Pavilion; this was the first gift of a pavilion outside China. At the start of the day's events there was a business meeting, involving the CWLEP, with potential Chinese investors in the region: Stratford-upon-Avon leveraging its brand for the wider benefit. Shortly after that our Chairman was invited to the Chinese embassy in London, which has resulted in an invitation to a conference in Beijing.

The brand value of Stratford-upon-Avon and Shakespeare is beginning to be seen as adding value by both the CWLEP and the WMCA. As we need substantial investment in the town to maintain our position as an international tourist destination, this is important.

Sometimes I think that people believe that our success and affluence will continue regardless. My view is that it will not, and we have to work hard to maintain it. This is why economic development is very high on our agenda.