Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) introduce the report, supported byJulia Blaschke (Economic Development Manager - Partners), Richard Davies (Vice Chancellor, University of Plymouth), David Draffan (Service Director, Economic Development), Lauren Paton (Economic Development Officer) and Nina Sarlaka (Inward Investment and Enterprise Manager, Economic Development):

a)    The intention was to bring each of the five pillars of the economic strategy, one to each meeting of the Panel in 2025/26;

b)    This pillar focused on increasing productivity and wages to enhance prosperity;

c)    Plymouth was well positioned as a national opportunity with significant investment potential;

d)    £4.4 billion investment in the dockyard was expected to create 5,500 jobs;

e)    £3 billion investment in Derriford Hospital;

f)     The city centre had a £1 billion pipeline of regeneration projects;

g)    A Growth Alliance had been formed between the Council, Royal Navy, and Babcock which aimed to support innovation, creation of high value jobs, skills, and housing development;

h)    Plymouth had been designated the UK’s National Centre for Marine Autonomy which showed the excellence of the companies who had already been attracted into in Plymouth, but opened up even more opportunity for the future;

i)     Homes England had partnered with the Council to build 10,000 homes, mostly in the city centre to create an exemplar of urban living;

j)     The industrial strategy had recognised Plymouth’s marine and defence capabilities;

k)    Babcock had announced a defence dividend for Plymouth which planned to relocate 2,000 workers to the city centre, an integrated logistics and manufacturing facility was proposed in the Freeport, and a new centre for engineering nuclear skills;

l)     The city had a £10 billion investment pipeline, a strong business community, three universities, a highly skilled workforce, a Freeport and a science park;

m)  Universities played a key role in innovation and workforce development;

n)    The University of Plymouth (UoP) had held meetings with various representatives of governments from around the world due to interest in Plymouth’s marine and defence sectors;

o)    UoP had led initiatives in cybersecurity and marine technology;

p)    Medical research and business incubation were supported by UoP facilities;

q)    Knowledge partnerships placed students in businesses to foster innovation;

r)    Skills development targeted both young and mature learners;

s)     An innovation task force had been established to coordinate efforts;

t)     16 strategic projects were identified across investible themes: Defence sector and Devonport, the waterfront and maritime, the north of the city and the city centre;

                      i.        These projects were not necessarily owned, funded or held by the Council;

                     ii.        They would all significantly impact on high value jobs and productive growth;

                    iii.        Projects included building Oceansgate Innovative Barns, Growing Smart Sound Plymouth and strengthening supply chains for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust;

u)    Scrutiny Panel members were encouraged to visit www.investplymouth.co.uk to learn more.

In response to questions, the following was discussed:

v)    £50 million was needed to reopen a railway line to Tavistock and open a train station in Plympton, which The Leader was lobbying for in connection with the defence investment in Plymouth;

w)   Electric buses had recently launched in the city;

x)    There was consultation and discussions ongoing about improvements at Manadon interchange, and other congestion-busting road network areas;

y)    The Council were working with Babcock on green staff travel plans;

z)    There were plans to expand The George Park and Ride;

aa)  Approximately 30,000 people were of working age but were not working and part of the strategy was to get 6,000-10,000 of those people reskilled and into the workforce;

bb)There was a need to encourage more graduates to remain in the city;

cc)  Another part of the strategy was to increase the aspirations of Plymouth’s population going through the education system;

dd)Marketing Plymouth was important to get people to relocate to the city;

ee)The pace of the change in vacancies within specialist areas, increase in number of apprenticeships in the dockyard;

ff)    It could be argued that people had not previously seen the ability to build a long-term career, across multiple large employers in Plymouth before, but recent and future investment was changing this;

gg)  There were barriers for diversity in some industries, particularly for women, and it was important to create role models, work which was being done through the university;

hh)UoP offered hands-on experiences different to other universities across the country in a variety of courses;

ii)    There was a need to engage with young people in Plymouth and use mentor and ambassador schemes to do so;

jj)    Leaders within the city were aligned on the vision for the future;

kk)UoP wanted to be a strong civic contributor and recognised that partnership working led to more positive impact and better solutions.

The Panel agreed to:

1.    Note the report and the continued focus on Productive Growth and High Value Jobs, as a key element of the Plymouth Economic Strategy.