BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL and MID SUFFOLK DISTRICT COUNCIL JOINT BABERGH MID SUFFOLK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPEN FOR BUSINESS STRATEGY

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1 BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL and MID SUFFOLK DISTRICT COUNCIL Frm: Crprate Manager - Open fr Business Reprt Number: BCa/17/49 T: MSDC Cabinet BDC Cabinet Date f meeting: 5 February February 2018 JOINT BABERGH MID SUFFOLK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPEN FOR BUSINESS STRATEGY 1. Purpse f Reprt 1.1 This reprt utlines infrmatin relating t the Jint Babergh Mid Sufflk (BMS) Ecnmic Develpment Open fr Business Strategy, and seeks Cabinet endrsement f the cre cntent attached as Appendix A. 2. Recmmendatins t Cabinet 2.1 That Cabinet endrse the Jint Babergh Mid Sufflk Ecnmic Develpment Open fr Business Strategy attached as Appendix A (t fllw). Reasn fr decisin: T accessibly set ut the lcal strategic apprach twards meeting and psitively impacting upn district level and brader ecnmic challenges, and expressing ur ffer t the business cmmunity. 3. Financial Implicatins 3.1 Nne directly as a result f this reprt. Delivery plan prjects and activity will be subject t individual scping assessment and any budgetary/resurcing parameters. 3.2 Subsequent mnitring and reprting will establish the imprtance and impact f the Strategy twards the lnger-term financial sustainability f the Cuncils, including such issues as grwth f the business rates base, demnstrable gd utcmes fr businesses, increased satisfactin f the business cmmunity with BMS supprt and a reductin in planning appeals. 3.3 The csts f develping and prducing the Strategy have been absrbed within the relevant prject and lead fficer resurces, and with firm fcus n JSP utcmes. Significant backgrund research/evidence has already funded by the Strategic Planning Team and we have used New Anglia LEP, Chamber f Cmmerce, Sufflk Cunty Cuncil and ther partnering intelligence t efficiently and cnsistently influence the frmulatin f this wrk. 4. Legal Implicatins 4.1 Nne as a direct result f this reprt. Delivery plan prjects and activity will be subject t individual scping assessment including any legal parameters. 4.2 Legal services will be cnsulted n any relevant legal implicatins/advice arising frm the implementatin and use f the Strategy.

2 5. Risk Management 5.1 Nne as a direct result f this reprt, but brader risks assciated with the Strategy are set ut belw: Risk Impact x Likelihd RISK LEVEL Mitigatin By nt having an Ecnmic Strategy the Cuncils jepardise the ability t attract new business grwth, and risk lss f emplyment land with cnsequential lss f business rate incme. Failure t deliver JSP. By adpting and implementing the Ecnmic Strategy, the Cuncils have a crdinated crssservice aim t supprt business creatin and retentin and deliver the verall grwth agenda. By nt having an endrsed Strategy we lack a cnsistent fundatin fr priritising and taking difficult decisins, including within the brader rganisatin and with ur partners, businesses and stakehlders. Withut a lcal strategy we lack a cmmitted respnse twards delivering the New Anglia Ecnmic Strategy and shwcasing the impact f ur micr/sme business base cre. Lack f alignment/cnflict with ther strategic strands with a stake in sustainable and inclusive grwth agenda The strategy, whilst expressed within a dcument, is a flexible apprach and intended t evlve and be a fcused lcal part f the brader grwth framewrk. The dcument cmmunicates ur understanding and apprach rather than setting ut rigid r inflexible plicy. Cnsultatin and develpment wrk. Many stakehlder cnversatins and insights have infrmed the strategy. A specific Appendix will utline the brader cntext within which the strategy will functin. That it is t aspiratinal verprmising and underdelivering. Impacting n ur reputatin and perfrmance. Extensive cnsultatin and gd fcus f intelligence, embedding a flexible apprach and carefully balancing shrt/medium and lnger term challenges will help t manage this risk. Mnitring f impact and achievement. 5.2 Further risk analyses will be undertaken as the Strategy is implemented and feeds service planning/perfrmance measures, and will be reprted t Cabinet leads and future briefings as required.

3 6. Cnsultatins 6.1 All elements f the Strategy have been infrmed at develpment stages by discussins with businesses, partner rganisatins and delivery clleagues and ther stakehlders. This has included day-t-day peratinal intelligence as well as specific prjects and cmmissined wrk. 6.2 Specifically n the draft Strategy we cnducted a shrt perid f further cnsultatin including with business sectr representatives, external partners and clleagues acrss the rganisatin. Senir fficers have steered the wrk and apprach frm early stages. 6.3 Scrutiny Cmmittee als reviewed an earlier draft in terms f hw the Strategy intends t supprt ur micr and small business base. That prcess influenced sme f the current cntent. 6.4 An internal wrking grup acrss Husing, Infrastructure and Leisure has met and this cntinues. Regular crss-cut wrking with regulatry and envirnmental areas has als helped t shape the cntent fr example its chesiveness with the New Anglia Better Business fr All initiative launched in Nvember As a lcal strategy we have n need fr any frmal prcess but have undertaken a brad and inclusive apprach. Respnses have been received frm Planning Plicy, Develpment Management, Sufflk Chamber f Cmmerce, Business Imprvement, Sufflk Cunty Cuncil (several aspects), Audit as well as infrmal feedback. Generally the Strategy has been very well received which suggests it is meeting ur bjective fr it t be accessible, flexible and easy t read. 7. Equality Analysis 7.1 N direct equality impacts arising fr the cntent f this reprt. 8. Shared Service / Partnership Implicatins 8.1 Cnsultatin and cllabrative develpment wrk has taken place as utlined in this reprt. 9. Links t Jint Strategic Plan 9.1 This item mst clsely aligns with: Business Grwth and Increased Prductivity The crss-cut nature f the strategy, and intended chesin with ther strategies, mean that this item impacts n mst JSP utcmes. This item als cntributes twards the Industrial Strategy, Sufflk Framewrk fr Grwth, New Anglia Ecnmic Strategy and ther brader reginal delivery wrk underway.

4 10. Key Infrmatin 10.1 Up until nw, neither Cuncil has had a strategic dcument r crprate ecnmic reference f this kind. It will supprt wrking with ur businesses and cmmunities, ur shrter term delivery actins and the lnger term aspiratins fr lcal reginal ecnmic grwth as expressed within the recently published New Anglia Ecnmic Strategy (NAES). The NAES was endrsed by Babergh and Mid Sufflk District Cuncils simultaneusly n 13 Octber The BMS Strategy shuld, ging frward, be an accessible and useful rganisatinal reference This item delivers n the Cuncils earlier cmmitment, expressed in its Year End Reprt 16/17, t make sure that the link between the Gvernment s Industrial Strategy, the Sufflk Framewrk fr Grwth and delivery n the grund in ur districts is clear, by develping a new Ecnmic Strategy fr Babergh and Mid Sufflk setting ut hw the Cuncils will priritise resurces t get the right cnditins and supprt in place It shuld be nted that whilst the intentin is t frmally review the BMS strategy in 2022, the Strategy and supprting infrmatin are intended t be an evlving and evidence/precedent-led apprach. This will supprt the rganisatin s ecnmic develpment and business supprt wrk acrss the tw districts, and scaling that up in terms f its cntributin twards cunty and reginal level wrk. The Strategy will integrate with and be applied alngside emerging Cuncil strategies including Husing, Infrastructure, Investment and Regulatry/Envirnment t create a cherent and cmplementary apprach twards delivering ur Jint Strategic Pririties. Meaningful perfrmance indicatrs and measures, including bridging and linking t the NAES, are nw in develpment The dcuments supprting the Open fr Business apprach are intended t be multiaudience, and the Strategy will serve t supprt: a lng-term visin and actins which deliver ecnmic grwth in ur Districts inward investment prmtin f ur area as an attractive place t invest and give cnfidence t business the Jint Lcal Plan service delivery actins and interventins, including hw we engage, deliver and facilitate ur apprach in being Open Fr Business (and All Tgether ) rganisatinal culture benefits t supprt and embed new ways f wrking hw we will engage with and supprt businesses whatever their scale r lcatin ur delivery partners and hw we wrk tgether t achieve ur bjectives mnitring f bth perfrmance and ecnmic cnditins service planning and acknwledging achievements guidance arund cmmercial, industrial and business premises: fr use in planning applicatin respnses and influencing decisin-making 10.5 The Strategy is infrmed by high-level infrmatin frm planning cnsultants Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners, and previus infrmatin prepared by Ingham Pinnck Assciates. The Strategy als includes its wn backgrund dcuments that are/will be published but nt frmally adpted as such. This includes:

5 BMS 2016 Open fr Business Survey reprt f findings. This is a statistical and qualitative reprt f the infrmatin gathered in the summer f This will be a peridic (2-yearly) intelligence gathering exercise and link t perfrmance measuring, ecnmic health check and service planning. It will hwever need t be updated in respnse t General Data Prtectin Regulatin changes. The Functinal Clusters Ecnmic Health Check 2017 presents third-party data and BMS OfB Survey findings at functinal cluster level, with cmmentary arund the ecnmic health f ur area. Visining wrk utputs in relatin t Greater Stwmarket and Greater Sudbury areas Branding, frmatting, infgraphics, bite-sized case studies, relevant appendices and visual translatin f evidence will enhance the final utput significantly but fr expediency and with an eye n future link up with ther strategic wrk we have prgressed cre cntent nly at this stage, seeking its endrsement. 11. Appendices Title (a) BMS Ecnmic Develpment Open Fr Business Strategy t 2022 Lcatin T fllw 12. Backgrund Dcuments Nne. Authrship: Lee Carvell Crprate Manager Open fr Business lee.carvell@baberghmidsufflk.gv.uk