Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) introduced the item and highlighted the following points:

a)    The previous economic plan for Plymouth was developed in 2014 and was refreshed in 2020;

b)    The 2014 Economic Plan delivered:

i)  £365 million Capital Programme with a further £600 million of match-funding;

ii) a £1 billion development pipeline had been developed;

iii) a rolling average of £30 million of grant funding per annum had been secured;

iv) £100 would be invested into Economic Development Initiatives by 2026;

v) The skyline of Plymouth had been transformed with major developments at the Royal William Yard, Derriford, the City Centre and the Waterfront;

vi) Major inward investment, including The Range Head Office, Land Registry HQ, Barcode and Cineworld and Barden’s future had been secured;

vii) Plymouth had become nationally recognised for it’s cultural place making with Ocean Studios, The Box and Devonport Market Hall;

viii) Inclusive growth had been championed and a new Economic Development Trust in Whitleigh had been created;

ix) Tourism had been championed with the launch of Britain’s Ocean City, Mayflower 400 events and the development of the cruise business;

x) Plymouth had become national recognised for work in the marine sector with Oceansgate, Marine Enterprise Zone, Freeport and the Marine and Maritime Launchpad;

xi) More employment land had been developed than ever before with 11 direct development;

c)    The Strategy would be refreshed post COVID19 and in light of national changes such as the demise of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs);

d)    Although there was not a need to radically change course, the Strategy would respond to emerging national trends and the growth of Plymouth’s Ports;

e)    The Strategy would continue to build on sectoral strengths such as Marine;

f)     The work would be carried out in two stages, the first being a review of the evidence base and identification of priority areas at this Cabinet meeting, the second was working with The Plymouth Growth Board and Scrutiny to produce four delivery plans during the course of the next 12 months;

g)    The four proposed priority areas and Cabinet Champions were:

i) Councillor Tudor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) – Productivity and High Value Jobs;

ii) Councillor Chris Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities) – Inclusive Growth;

iii) Councillor Tom Briars-Delve (Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change) – Sustainable Growth;

iii) Councillor Jemima Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children's Social Care, Culture, Events and Communications) – Civic Pride and Regeneration.

h)    The plan for the new Strategy was as follows:

i) Create 1000 new businesses;

ii) Create 800 new jobs;

iii) Grow the value of the economy by £1 billion;

iv) To lift 3000 people out of poverty;

v) To help 5000 people get work;

vi) Bring 50 vacant buildings back to use;

vii) Support Net Zero City by 2030;

viii) Build 500 homes;

ix) Reduce those without formal qualifications by 50%;

x) Increase Council productivity by 10%;

xi) The city would have more cultural, heritage and sport.

Councillor Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children's Social Care, Culture, Events and Communications) added the following in regard to becoming the Champion for Civic Pride and Regeneration:

i)     This part of the plan would build on cultural place-making by working with the city’s National Portfolio Organisations and Universities;

j)     The Art’s Council had previously published a case study about Plymouth and how the city promotes culture;

k)    The Box would change perceptions of residents and visitors with even more world-class exhibitions and artists;

l)     The Council were working on a new place partnership with the Arts Council following a visit from the Area Director;

m)  The music scene and night-time economy would grow and thrive, which would support hospitality;

n)    The National Marine Park would also improve and grow civic pride;

o)    All sections of this plan would invigorate the Britain’s Ocean City brand.

Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities) added the following in regard to becoming the Champion for Inclusive Growth:

p)    Inclusive Growth was a key part of the Economic Strategy as Plymouth wanted everyone in the city to benefit from growth the Strategy would provide;

q)    Taking 3000 people out of poverty in ten years was a small part of a larger piece of work;

r)    A piece of academic research published on Community Wealth identified Plymouth as two of the three models that were currently being used in the country;

s)     The plan would focus on those who had traditionally been left out, and would continue to ensure good growth which benefits everyone;

t)     There would be a focus on skills and Workforce Development so people could get one of the 5000 jobs;

u)    There would be an emphasis on people with caring responsibilities and health challenges;

v)    The plan would build on the Plymouth Charter and push social value, local purchasing and better buying, not only within the Council but across the whole city;

w)   The plan would continue to support Community Economic Development Trusts;

x)    Social Enterprises would be supported;

y)    The Council’s agenda as a Cooperative City would be pushed and the strategy for it would be launched in July on International Cooperatives Day.

Councillor Briars-Delve (Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change) added the following in regard to becoming the Champion for Sustainable Growth:

z)    Achieving Net Zero as a city would not be possible without having a lower carbon economy;

aa)  Existing businesses could be de-carbonised in a number of ways including, retro-fitting and rethinking procurement routes;

bb)Plymouth was ambitious about new forms of technology, investment and green jobs;

cc)  The plan included work around Floating Offshore Wind;

dd)There would be work done around Heat Networks which would change the way homes and businesses in Plymouth are heated;

ee)The plan would continue to review the emphasis on sustainable modes of transport and clean port developments;

ff)    The National Marine Park, Habitat Bank, Flooding Resilience, and the Community Forest were all included in the Wider Green Agenda;

gg)  The Green Skills Agenda needed to develop to ensure people had the skills to kick-start the future economy of social justice.

Councillor Cresswell (Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships) also added:

hh)The theme across all four pillars of the structure was skills and development;

ii)    The Strategy was about inclusive success for everyone.

Toby Hall (Project Manager) added:

jj)    The previous Economic Strategy had been used so the new one could build and improve on it;

kk)The evidence and data in the newest Strategy had identified key economic opportunities for Plymouth.

Lauren Paton (Economic Development Officer) added:

ll)    The four pillars did not act independently, they overlapped and interlocked;

mm)              Productivity was a good proxy measure for living standards and economic competitiveness.

Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) added:        

nn)Plymouth had recovered well from COVID;

oo)Everybody being included and having their place was fundamental to the next phase of the Strategy.

Cabinet agreed the revised Plymouth Economic Strategy, subject to final approval by the Leader of the Council.