Joint report of Chief Executive and Director of Resources.

The Lead Member for Learning and Employment presented a report regarding the above.  (For copy see file of Minutes).

It was explained that the Local Authority Business Growth Initiative had been introduced by the Government in 2005 to reward local authorities for encouraging greater levels of economic growth.  To date Sedgefield Borough Council had received £558,082 to reflect the growth in business rates during 2005/06 and 2006/07.  A further award was anticipated for 2007/08.

The report proposed that the funding should be invested in the following four specific areas:

Ø        Enabling Capital Investment - Economic Regeneration (£300,000)

      To support the preparatory work required to commence capital projects aimed at stimulating economic growth, coming forward through the Council’s Major Regeneration Initiatives process.

Ø        Enabling Capital Investment - Community Regeneration (£100,000)

      To support the preparatory work required to commence capital projects aimed at stimulating community regeneration, coming forward through the Council’s Local Improvement Programme.

Ø        Stimulating Economic Growth - Project Fund (£100,000)

      To enable non-capital activities such as research, marketing and promotion to be undertaken to maximise the impact of the above capital investments.

Ø        Economic Response Fund (£58,082)

Contingency funding to enable the Council to react to major redundancy or closure announcements.

RESOLVED :         1.         That the use of resources received through the Local Authority Business Growth Initiative to create four funds aimed at stimulating future economic growth be approved.

               2.         That funding decisions be delegated to the Capital Programmes Team up to a limit of £75,000 for schemes identified through the Major Regeneration Initiatives process.