Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member Economy and Development

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    The Cheltenham Economic Recovery Business Plan be endorsed;

2.    The Director of Planning reports on the outcomes of the Business Plan to Overview and Scrutiny as part of the reporting on the Recovery Strategy as agreed by Cabinet on 7th July 2020.

The Cabinet Member Economy and Development presented the report, noting that the Covid pandemic was naturally affecting the resilience of the town centre, with consequences both for jobs and for the stability of local businesses and cultural activities.

She explained that the Cheltenham Economic Recovery Task Force (CERTF) was created in response to the pandemic, with members representing borough officers, local businesses, the voluntary and community sectors and elected cabinet members, all of whom were involved in producing the Business Plan. Members shared expertise across a wide range of business disciplines and industry sectors to create a vision for inclusive economic growth in Cheltenham, drawing together commitments to maintain long-term economic, social, cultural and environmental growth. These included supporting all of Cheltenham’s high streets and retail parks; re-imagining the town centre as a place for people and social experiences; supporting local business resilience; jobs and skills development; helping communities to help themselves; adapting to the growing digitisation of work; driving forward sustainability goals, re-establishing consumer trust and promoting inward investment.

She outlined the programme of activities developed in order to guide the task force over the next 18 months. These focused on nine key priorities, namely the town centre; cyber; inward investment; local business resilience and jobs; green growth, sustainability and environment; the visitor economy; skills and education; funding opportunities; and the lobbying of government and key stakeholders. She noted that it was also a living document, which could be amended to account for changes in priority as part of the Covid recovery.

She encouraged residents to visit the ‘We’re Moving to Cheltenham’ website to view the plan, and thanked task force members for their work.

The Cabinet Member Climate and Communities welcomed the report, suggesting that it was particularly important to support the town centre as a community hub, and that people needed to be put first throughout. He was also pleased that task force members had particular expertise on climate issues, which were a recurring thread in the plan.

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles stressed the need to prioritise culture, and asked that parts of the report be amended to ensure that these considerations were not forgotten. The Cabinet Member Economy and Development responded that she was happy to do this, and would liaise with officers to amend the report.

The Leader moved to a vote, where it was unanimously:

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    The Cheltenham Economic Recovery Business Plan be endorsed;

2.    The Director of Planning reports on the outcomes of the Business Plan to Overview and Scrutiny as part of the reporting on the Recovery Strategy as agreed by Cabinet on 7th July 2020.