Agenda item

The consider the draft Economic Strategy and Action Plan (2023-2027) which sets out the approach and actions the Council will undertake to support delivering against its ‘Investing in Our Local Economy & Infrastructure’ objective and supporting the growth of the local economy over the next four years.

Councillor Heinrich, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, presented a report on a draft Economic Strategy and Action Plan (2023-2027) that sets out the approach and actions the Council will undertake to support delivering against the ‘Investing in Our Local Economy and Infrastructure’ objective in the Council’s Corporate Plan and in supporting the growth of the local economy over the next four years.

Councillor Heinrich stated the key thing the strategy needed to be was flexible and adaptable especially with a fluid national economic picture and a forthcoming general election.

Councillor Heinrich added that he wanted the council to move forward by creating an environment in which business could thrive, where new businesses could flourish, inward investment is nurtured, and innovation and creativity are welcomed.

Councillor Heinrich in response to a question from Councillor Boyle commented that he thought the national economic situation would be the biggest barrier to achieving the strategy. There was a need for the government to produce an industrial strategy that included rural areas.

The Assistant Director Sustainable Growth responded to Councillor Holliday’s question stated that if you wanted to define a future unique selling point for North Norfolk that could be the Green Industry Sector to include renewable energy, hydrogen capture and storage and ensuring that there is a transition for jobs in traditional industries to green ones. There could also be an opportunity to look at innovation in nature based solutions that are currently being trialled in North Norfolk.

The Economic Growth Manager added that it would be good for the Council to concentrate on its economic strengths and the Council could grow its brand of Sustainable Tourism and build a narrative around that and the beautiful environment and heritage in the district.

The Assistant Director Sustainable Growth replied to Councillor Holliday’s question that there was some further work to be done to understand the value of other sectors to the local economy beyond that work already done on the Tourism sector. This could be in the form of a dossier that would provide relevant information to help those companies who were thinking of relocating to North Norfolk.

Councillor Heinrich in response to a question from Councillor Dixon stated that there was a an Invest North Norfolk website and the Council needed to promote itself online but there was work to be done make it more visible for the public to access,

Councillor Heinrich in response to a question from Councillor Housden stated that the Council didn’t have money to directly invest for businesses and that a National Investment Bank might get around the reluctance of commercial banks to invest in local schemes. Any government money that has been time limited has already gone out to businesses.

The Assistant Director Sustainable Growth stated in response to Councillor Hankins question that the Local Economic Partnership’s (LEP) powers has been transferred to the two county Councils in their area. The Council was administering some of the Shared Prosperity and Rural England Schemes from the New Anglia Growth hub that was set up by the LEP and that will transition to the County Council. The Council though did currently have funding for diversification, community and other investment programs that require match funding.

Councillor Heinrich in response to a question from Councillor Housden commented that the main concern of employers was the shortage of staff as in the main young people from North Norfolk don’t tend to come back to the area once they go to university due to jobs not paying enough or being sufficiently challenging.

The Economic Growth Manager added that the number one comment from businesses is the recruitment and retention of staff. There was a programme with Norfolk County Council Future Skills Now to work with business to understand what the long-term issues are and then working on the solutions to create a pathway to support businesses.

Councillor Heinrich in response to a question from Councillor Cushing confirmed that the Council worked closely with the County Council and that the strategy was intended to be a living document. It was intended with Cabinet approval to produce a shorter summary of the document.

The Assistant Director Sustainable Growth in response to a question from Councillor Housden advised that the Invest North Norfolk website had sections on business support, grants, funding, loans, community grants and funding from the council and elsewhere that are updated frequently.

Councillor Withington, Portfolio Holder for Community, Leisure and Outreach, in response to a question stated there was an action in the strategy to develop a cultural and creative sector strategy to help those arts and culture based businesses in North Norfolk to grow and develop their potential. There has also been work started to get museums to work more closely together.

Recommended – that (A) that an appendix to the full strategy and action plan be produced to show all the different sectors to the economy in North Norfolk and when available information be provided in the document that sets out the value of each sector to the local economy, and

(B) the strategy part is extracted from the full document into a shorter summary form that could be more quickly read.