Five missions and a set of actions aiming to transform Stoke-on-Trent’s economy and unlock prosperity have been outlined in a document being delivered to 10 Downing Street today.
Business representatives will join the city council leader, the city’s MPs and people from the voluntary sector to travel to London to present the prospectus document called Future 100 this afternoon.
The prospectus – pitched as a partnership offer with Government – calls for investment in seven critical areas including North Staffordshire’s transport infrastructure, the city’s strongest sectors of digital, creative and advanced manufacturing (including ceramics) and in the city’s skills base and employment support.
It has been drawn up by a city coalition including prominent politicians, business leaders, academics, and figures from the health and voluntary sectors. It is supported by Stoke-on-Trent’s three MPs as well as Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
The five missions listed in the prospectus are:
- Securing economic growth by addressing the ‘significant latency which has acted as a drag on the city’s resurgent economy’
- Delivering clean energy, sustainable transport and an improved local environment – including tripling the amount of locally-generated renewable energy and increasing bus passenger journeys by a third in the next five years.
- Regenerating the city with new homes, reclaimed brownfield land and seeing five heritage buildings removed from the “at risk” register.
- Removing barriers to opportunity including transform the quality and inclusivity of education.
- Improving the health and wellbeing of the population to see a drop in the proportion of children living in poverty, and a two-year boost to healthy life expectancy.
The economic targets include achieving a local economy worth £9 billion a year by 2030, with 5,000 more people in employment and a 10 per cent increase in the value of locally-contracted supplies.
Another aim is to close the attainment gap with the national average, with a 2.5 percentage point increase in the number of working-age residents with Level 3 or higher qualifications.
The prospectus also calls for innovations to unlock development, such as a revolving land fund to reclaim brownfield sites and help to kickstart council-house building.
A foreword to the document – co-signed by city council leader Jane Ashworth and the city’s MPs – reads: “Stoke-on-Trent already has a dynamic, diverse and highly-integrated economy; a rich cultural heritage; and an indomitable sense of community spirit.
“The city is a strategic hub, connecting labour, goods and services across the region and the UK. With Government support and investment, we can overcome current challenges to create a city that is prosperous, inclusive and sustainable, delivering economic and social benefits locally and nationally for decades to come.
“We invite the Government to partner with us to unlock this city region’s full potential, transform our citizens’ lives and unleash a new era of creativity and innovation.”
Councillor Ashworth said: “Stoke-on-Trent is already a nationally important engine of innovation and growth.
“But well-known obstacles have held back this growth. Austerity and chronic underinvestment in vital infrastructure have constrained our economy and mean opportunity has been unevenly spread.
“For too many of the people who live here, the headline growth in the city’s economy has felt like little more than a number of a spreadsheet.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create something better.
“The City Prospectus is a radical yet achievable plan to tackle our economic, social and environmental challenges at the same time; to transform the way we deliver services; and to make Stoke-on-Trent not just an engine of growth, but one which provides high quality homes, jobs, skills and opportunities for people across North Staffordshire and beyond.”
Rachel Laver, Chief Executive of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, who is part of the group travelling to London, said: “It is vital that we support and help drive the economic growth of the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the county. I’m delighted to be able to join a small delegation going to No.10 to meet advisors to discuss how government can support the delivery of the investment prospectus.
“The area is too often talked down and it shouldn’t be, because we have huge potential here. We now need to be ambitious and unapologetic about our plans for growth and not held back by bureaucracy.
“We already have great start-up rates in the city, we want to develop this further and for the city and the county to be known as the place that businesses can thrive. On my shopping list is more Compulsory Purchase Order powers, an Infrastructure Evergreen Fund and more enterprise zones and as ever streamlining of business support.”
First and foremost, big retailers and businesses need to be incentivised to come back to Hanley city centre to kick start the regeneration of the city centre, then the rest will follow with employment and prosperity,
There’s no point in blowing hot air about the environment and reducing poverty without a simple plan to boost business by offering free rent periods and development support, which is actually what’s required in reality.
Small startup businesses are crippled by high rates and it makes no sense to have empty units when they could be occupied and generating some income, if a discounted rate was offered on these units. Also the old diesel powered buses need to be got rid of as they are always breaking down or driving past people saying “not in service”. Get some electric powered public transport and a bus service that is frequent and practical and reliable, that gets people to work on time instead of late, so they turn away from using cars so much. If you cant afford to build houses, then at least do as much as you can to attract private developers in to build more affordable housing with off road parking. Get the potholes fixed and stop giving priority to trimming overgrown hedges.