14 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ANNUAL REPORT - 2018/19 PDF 234 KB
To receive a report from the Assistant Director for Economic Development, which highlights some of the progress and key achievements of 2018/19.
Minutes:
The Sub-Committee received an update report
from the Assistant Director for Economic Development (item 6 in the
minute book), which highlighted strategic activities
from the year 2018-19.
The ‘Coherent Place’ commission had taken place with
John Till, and recommendations taken forward from that inquiry. The
County had continued to work closely with LEP’s and there had
been two specific Brexit events. A series of ‘Business
Engagement Forum’ workshops had enabled recommendations and
ideas to be shared following the outcomes of the inquiry by John
Till and these had been a success.
Members learned that business growth had been varied, with some
business areas suffering across the year whilst others had
expanded. Whilst there was great potential for areas such as within
Gosport and the maritime industry, there would also be challenges
around infrastructure and access, which would need to be balanced.
‘Enabling’ was an important thing for the County to
work with to assist companies and businesses rather than expecting
them to work to and alongside a set strategy.
The Gulfstream investment at Farnborough meant a lot of potential for the area and had been the biggest investment by Gulfstream outside of the USA. Other initiatives such as ‘Thought Leadership’ and ‘Station Approach’ were also discussed by the Sub-Committee.
Looking forward to 2020, there were plans to work further with the Solent LEP to find the best way of the supporting the maritime industry. There would also be further discussions around 5G.
The Sub Committee supported the report and thanked the officers for all their work.
6. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ANNUAL REPORT - 2018/19 PDF 110 KB
To receive a report from the Assistant Director for Economic Development, which highlights some of the progress and key achievements of 2018/19.