Agenda item

(i)   Report of the Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth.

(ii)  Presentation by the Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth.

The Chair welcomed the newly appointed Corporate Director of Regeneration, Economy and Growth, Amy Harhoff who was in attendance to provide the Committee with an overview presentation in relation to the impact of COVID-19 on the Regeneration, Economy and Growth (REG) Service (for copy see file of minutes).

The Corporate Director, REG thanked the Chair and Members and noted she was delighted to attend her first meeting of the Committee and looked forward to the Members’ discussion.  She noted that there were a number of items on the agenda that related to the economic impact of COVID-19 and the activity across the county to support the resilience and recovery of economy.  The Committee noted that the first report related to the more strategic impacts and the response of the Council with subsequent items looking at Business Durham and Visit County Durham in more detail, two critical areas as part of the recovery.

Members noted the report covered two key areas: REG as an area within the Council, what it was responsible for and some of the activities and impacts upon the business sector as part of the response to the pandemic; and strategically as regards the impacts across the county itself and the Council’s support activities.

The Corporate Director, REG noted the report within the pack was “at a point in time” and she explained that the nature of the pandemic was such that the Council’s ability to respond was quite different to any other issue seen before.  She noted the difference between the responses to previous economic issues, recessions and the decline in industry, explaining the economic impact of the pandemic with the underpinning reason being a health crisis yet to be resolved.  It was noted that regular updates on the recovery and resilience of the economy would be brought back to Committee.

The Committee noted the impact in relation to areas including: Transport; Culture and Sport; Tourism; Development and Housing; Corporate Property and Land; and Business Durham.  The Corporate Director, REG referred to the report and presentation slides, highlighting the current context, areas that are doing well and the impacts on retail and hospitality sector.  She informed Members of the impacts upon town centres, the visitor economy and transport. 

She added that an Agile Resilience Plan had been developed by the Council with the County Durham Economic Partnership (CDEP) providing a pragmatic and positive approach to supporting the resilience of businesses and employees and comprised of four key priorities: Resilient Businesses; Resilient People; Resilient Visitor Economy and Resilient Town Centres.

The Chair thanked the Corporate Director, REG and asked Members for their comments and questions.

Councillor R Bell referred to town and village centres and to paragraph 29 of the report which stated the Community Economic Development Team had seen a shift in its work from project oversight to retail business support.  He noted many schemes, such as Targeted Business Improvements (TBI), were time-limited and he asked if those schemes could be extended as many trades/contractors were very busy in terms of home improvement works and it was therefore difficult to get project works commenced.  He added that in addition to extending schemes to ensure funds were not lost, he asked if it would be possible to further shape them in terms of the hospitality sector.  Councillor R Bell noted he had raised these issues at an Area Action Partnership (AAP) meeting attended by the Head of Development and Housing and asked whether attendance at AAP meetings represented all of the consultation in respect of the Town and Villages Programme, a £20 million fund, or whether ideas from Councillors would also be taken into account and if plans for the spend would come back to Overview and Scrutiny.

Councillor T Tucker commented in relation to public transport connectivity to job sites, including to the development at Integra 61, many young people were unable to get to some locations to work night shift and could not afford their own transport.  She asked whether investment in public transport was being looked at to enable people to access employment opportunities.

Councillor E Adam noted the report had not seemed to focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that were key for the County Durham economy, including the self-employed and asked what the impact of the pandemic had been on those types of businesses and what support had been taken up by our existing businesses.

The Corporate Director, REG noted, in respect of extension of time-limits, that where funds were directly within the Council’s control, such as the town and villages programme, then they could be kept under review to be able to respond to the needs of businesses, adding that being able to spend funding within a given timescale was sometimes a challenge.  She explained that where funding was not from the Council, such as from central Government, there were often tight timescales associated with this funding, noting an example being some infrastructure funding associated with the pandemic having to be spent within six months. 

She reiterated that where the Council had discretion it would keep timescales under review pragmatically, where the Council did not it was more of a challenge. 

In respect of the Town and Villages consultation, the Corporate Director, REG noted AAPs had been given a strategic overview so they would have visibility in terms of the process, with that to be followed by more detailed workshops so that each AAP would have the time to talk in detail about their area and their aspirations for the funding.  She added that a report would be brought back to Cabinet in the new year that would set out the proposals for the initial programme of investment.

The Corporate Director, REG noted in reference to public transport, and specifically at the Integra 61 development, that negotiations were ongoing with Amazon in terms of supporting shift patterns outside of normal public transport operating times and that she would provide an update to the Committee.  In reference to SMEs, she noted that with over 11,000 SMEs across the county it was a very important area, it would be important to look at a more detailed analysis and would be an area to undertake further action with a focused piece of work.  She also commented that she would share the focused piece of work with the Committee.

Councillor E Scott asked as regards how town and village support was prioritised, with not all towns and villages being impacted equally and not all business sectors being impact equally. 

Mrs R Morris asked as regards the resilience plan, in particularly in terms of the “skilling up” of young people and asked what type of skills would be developed with young people and with groups identified to help those young people.  She also asked as regards what training there would be in terms of ensuring the right pathways into employment, noting jobs in areas such as digital, environmental and climate change would be important going forward.

Councillor B Avery noted his thanks for the work and efforts of leisure centre staff during the pandemic, however, he noted that he had not seen the numbers coming back to use the facilities since reopening and asked what work was being undertaken to encourage people to return to using leisure centres.

The Corporate Director, REG noted in terms of priorities, the next step would be to understand the drivers for decline within each town, noting the losses in the high street impacting Durham City, and to engage with businesses and to look where the Council had priorities and investments that could support them.  She added that there was work to do in terms of town centres to ensure that a very strong case was put to Government in terms of the significant levels of investment that would be required.  In respect of skills, she agreed it was an important issue and that the areas highlighted of digital and climate change were important, as well as the county’s strength in manufacturing, and it was important that young people had the skills to access jobs in those areas. 

The Corporate Director, REG noted as part of the work in the next phase, within the rules relating to skills funding, there would be a focus on making sure packages were tailored to enable young people to be able to access jobs. 

In terms of leisure centres, the Corporate Director, REG explained that they were, on average, at 60-70 percent capacity partly as a result of demand, partly as a result of measures to ensure social distancing.  She noted that there was a fine balance in terms of encouraging people to use the Council facilities, important for communities and the viability of the centres, but also in terms of the public health message.  She added that communications were regularly put out and aimed to strike a balance in terms of encouraging use and balancing demand at centres, noting that could be reviewed and a further update could be provided to the committee on leisure in the future.

Mr T Bolton noted the lockdown had highlighted the opportunities for people to visit locations within the county, for example the heritage coast at Seaham, and he had noted an upturn in the number of visitors to such locations including Teesdale and Weardale.  He asked as regards Visit County Durham, and partners, were they looking at the opportunities in respect of selling the outdoor assets within County Durham that were accessible during the pandemic.

Councillor J Atkinson noted information and advice relating to the pandemic would often change and be updated and asked if there was any summary or link to information which could be provided to help businesses.

Councillor F Tinsley noted the information in respect of a 50 percent reduction in bus use and asked as regards how those providers were being supported on a daily basis, and more strategically in terms of quality contracts and reregulation of the industry, noting the renationalisation of some parts of the train industry.  He noted a recent report by the House of Commons Library in terms of regional economic indicators which had shown County Durham had taken a 12 percent hit to its Gross Value Added (GVA) figure as a result of COVID-19 and suggested that County Durham would not recover back to its quarter four 2019 GVA figure until 2030, he asked for the Corporate Director’s view on that assessment.

The Corporate Director, REG noted the outdoors spaces of County Durham were promoted and agreed there were many fantastic assets accessible during the pandemic such as High Force and the beach at Seaham.  She noted a balance was struck in terms of encouraging safe visits and “staycations”, and to encourage County Durham residents to visit those outdoor places.  It was noted a caveat was to respond in terms of health guidance from Government and to movement between areas.  In respect of the amount of information and changing advise relating to the pandemic for businesses, the Corporate Director, REG noted the hard work undertaken to put out coherent messages, adding that she would welcome feedback on communication.

The Corporate Director, REG noted in terms of bus use that the Council had very close relationships with bus operators and reminded Members that the Council was responsible for the commission of where it subsidised services. 

She added that the Council worked to ensure as much service and network cover as possible, within the confines of the funding.  She noted it was vital to maintain the funding of that critical service, especially given around one in three of the population did not have access to a car.  The Corporate Director, REG noted in terms of the strategic level and regulation of bus services, the Council continued to work with operators to make sure services were good across the county, noting strong satisfaction levels from the public of around 90 percent.  She added there were no specific plans in the county in terms of looking at re-regulation, though there was provision with the appropriate Act to look at the issue under certain circumstances.

The Corporate Director, REG noted the issue relating to GVA and recovery and 12 percent being a significant number, however, while it was possible to have credible estimates, she explained that there was a lot of work to be undertaken looking at County Durham locally to understand the impact and it would be important to push hard to ensure it was not 2030 by the time the economy returned to the 2019 level.

Resolved:  

(i)        That the content of the report and presentation be noted.

(ii)       That the Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee receive a further progress report, detailing the impact of COVID-19 on key areas of the Service Grouping, at a future meeting.