I emailed these notes to Councillors re-the Croydon
Cabinet meeting discussion on 20 January
on economic development strategy and its role in Local Economic Partnerships. The
Cabinet paper can be seen at: https://secure.croydon.gov.uk/akscroydon/images/att3205.pdf.
Although
Local Economic Partnerships have no real resources they are the only fora
available which have Government backing. It is clearly vital that Croydon
Council should be active in both partnerships in order:
·
to
have access to information that allows it to identify opportunities and
threats, and to tease out how to develop a more diverse and resilient local
economic base.
·
To
ensure that they can work as effectively as possible.
Potential
Threats
·
The
high level of empty offices across London (11% November 2011. (Note: up to July last year the Shard had
signed up no more than 10% tenants a year after its opening with tenants not
moving in until this year. This despite London Mayor Boris Johnson’s stating at
the opening that it would be a
'commercial magnet'.)
·
The
attraction to many tenants of high rent hot spots like Hammersmith (£47sqf) and
Chiswick (£49sqf) over double the cost in Croydon and Gatwick. (Source: Q3
2013. M25 OFFICES. Investment, development & occupier markets. Frank
Knight.
·
The
loss of Nestles to Gatwick suggesting that any expansion of the airport and its
employment infrastructure could be detrimental for Croydon in its attempt to
retain existing and attract new office development.
·
The
future attraction of the office developments planned for the Vauxhall Nine Elms
and Battersea Opportunity Area, which has the full backing of the Mayor of
London and the Government.
Opportunities
·
Access
to the £15m+ funding awarded by the Government to the Coast to Capital LEP.
(Unfortunately the website is being re-constructed at the moment so details of
its work cannot be seen.)
·
Identify
how other parts of the Borough can
benefit from encouraging diversity in economic development.
·
Work
with the Croydon Tech City movement on IT and digital development issues,
including ways in which CTC can be involved with the LEPs.
·
Work
with the Croydon social sector (inc. charities, community and voluntary groups,
mutuals and social enterprises) which plays an important role in the local economy,
including ways in which it can be involved on the LEPs.
·
Encourage
cross links with the South London Partnership and Wandle Forum in relation to
the economic development potential along the river valley linked to the
Regional Park and environmental improvement priorities.
Principles for
Engagement
The
following principles could usefully underpin Croydon’s economic development
approach and its engagement with the LEPs.
·
Thriving
community and voluntary sector able to respond to challenges in order to
support vulnerable communities, and help ready a locality for change through
increasing community capacity and by encouraging local enterprise development
through the social sector;
·
Strong
civic engagement as people value the opportunity to live in an area where they
have a strong say in how their area is run and feel part of the democratic
process;
•
Strong
public sector which understands its
economic footprint and uses this impact effectively to support local economies
through procurement, employment and as a landowner;
·
Diverse
finance sector especially financial services which can help to support and
encourage local circulation of money;
·
High
levels of diversity in the economy and active discouragement of dependence on any one sector or aspect of that
sector;
·
Effective
public services ensuring that the most vulnerable in society are cared for and
tackling issues relating to income inequality which can be bad for the local
economy.
·
Closer
integration of land use planning with economic development as a high quality environment attracts people to
the area either to work or live, including public green space, sports
facilities and emphasis on environmental conservation.
No comments:
Post a Comment