Council Plan 2012-2016 - Strategic Theme: Economy

Strategic Theme: Economy

Creating a vibrant, diverse and inclusive economy

The current economic downturn means that businesses are trading in an incredibly tough environment, unemployment is on the up, high street spending is down and economies are becoming more and more fragile.

Priority Outcomes

The Context

The employment rate in Wrexham County Borough is high, but this masks issues around youth unemployment and comparatively low levels of self-employment.

The value of the goods and services produced in the County Borough¹ is one of the highest in Wales, but between 2000 and 2010, average earnings moved from above to below the Welsh average.

The number of businesses in the County Borough has fallen since 2005, but the completion of the Eagles Meadow shopping and leisure complex has seen significant growth in local leisure and shopping opportunities.

The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation highlights the contrasts within the County Borough, with one area being one of the ten most deprived areas in Wales and another just outside the ten least deprived areas.

How this theme was developed

The priority outcomes within this strategic theme are drawn from the Economic Prosperity Strategy. It reflects the Community Strategy theme of 'A place that is prosperous' and links to the Joint Plan outcome one, 'no child or young person is disadvantaged by poverty.'

'The single most important thing the Council can do is to encourage new business to provide work for local people'
Survey respondent

Job prospects was the issue highlighted as most in need of improvement in the County Borough, supported by 52% of survey respondents². A third of respondents (33.2%) also highlighted wage levels and the local cost of living.

'Ensuring long term employment which has career potential and personal development. Not just low paid, low skilled work'.
Survey respondent

¹ Gross value added per head – taken from regional accounts (ONS) 2009

² 'The key issues for Wrexham County Borough' survey

E1 – People want to live, work, visit and invest here

The more people who want to build their lives, pursue their ambitions or spend money here, the wealthier the place will be and the greater the quality of life for everyone. We need however to build the right physical environment and the right image or profile of the area.

We are investing in the County Borough in order to:

  • Secure enough of the right land or buildings to attract high quality employment opportunities with premium employers;
  • Capitalise on the potential of our tourism assets to encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more;
  • Reduce the number of vacant/void town centre premises and increase footfall. More shoppers means more pounds through the shop tills!
  • Conserve and regenerate key buildings to raise the overall quality and feel of the infrastructure and public realm within the County Borough.

One way of gauging the health of the economy is to take a walk down any high street. And, according to the latest survey, the results are not good, with 14% of town centre shops in the UK currently vacant. Weak consumer confidence, rising unemployment and growing online sales are being blamed.

A place that is attractive to residents will also attract business and investment as well as be a place where tourists wish to be. It's all about lifestyle.

We will monitor our success through:

Outcome Indicator Comparison Wrexham 2011/2012 Target 2012/2013 Target 2013/2014 Target 2014/2015 Target 2015/2016
Total value of investment in physical regeneration in Wrexham (as broken down below) n/a £3.53m £2.45m £4.32m Under review3 Under review
Town centre vacancy rate UK 14% 9.2% Our vacancy rate will track the national average. Sustain performance at a minimum of 5% below the national average.
Value of visitor spend in Wrexham County Borough £84.4m4 £87m £87.5m5 £88m £88.5m £89m

We will achieve this by:

  • Completing western gateway junction 3 and securing planning permissions for junction 2 and the spine road;
  • Leading the conservation and restoration of buildings in Cefn Mawr;
  • Improving the visitor experience within the whole of the world heritage site including support for the development of tourist facilities and attractions at key location such as Trevor Basin and Chirk;
  • Preserving the distinctive character of our built heritage;
  • Taking forward physical improvements in Wrexham town centre including physical and environmental improvements at King Street and infrastructure improvements at the indoor markets; and
  • Developing and delivering a Marketing and Communications plan with focus on promoting Wrexham Town Centre, Wrexham Industrial Estate and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site.

3 Total value of investment post 2013-14 will de determined after the adoption of the Physical Regeneration Strategy for Wrexham CBC, which is to be produced within the coming year.

4 Figures for Wrexham County Borough 2010/11

5 Projected figures are at 2011/12 prices and will need to be adjusted for inflation. They also take into account the imminent changes to the Scarborough Tourism Economic Measure (STEAM) system used to collate such economic data, in addition to the economic trend for the past 5-year period.

E2 – Businesses can locate and grow here

In recent years many businesses in Wrexham County Borough have been adversely affected by the downturn in the global economy. Similarly, our own commercial activities have not been immune. For example, the occupancy levels in our own commercial property portfolio have declined in recent years. This mirrors the experience of many private sector landlords. Over the next five years we will adjust our property portfolio to make it more relevant to business needs and work with all partners to try and attract new businesses to this area. We shall also encourage and support new business starts. Our overall goal is to increase the number of registered businesses in the County Borough from 4,565 (ONS, March 2010) to closer to 5,000 over the period and create jobs for local people.

We will monitor our success through:

Outcome Indicator Comparison Wrexham 2011/2012 Target 2012/2013 Target 2013/2014 Target 2014/2015 Target 2015/2016
Number of new businesses assisted by Wrexham County Borough Council (WCBC)6 n/a 30 60 60 60 60
Percentage of WCBC lettable commercial property occupied7 n/a 68 75 78 80 82
Number of qualified investment enquiries n/a 100 150 175 200 250
Number of registered businesses n/a 45658 Increase at one per cent per year more than the national average

We will achieve this by:

  • Developing close business relationships with strategically important businesses;
  • Encouraging entrepreneurship, business start-ups and indigenous growth by developing tailored packages of business support;
  • Provide commercial property that meets the needs of indigenous business, New Start businesses and potential inward investors;
  • Help businesses and training partners identify skills gaps and work with colleges to extend the training they can offer;
  • Help businesses increase their turnover, profit and sustainability by encouraging 'supply chain' opportunities and links between businesses; and
  • Develop 'business communities' and encourage dialogue between firms so that they work together for mutual benefit and improved competitiveness.

6 Robust information on the number of new business is not available, and so this measure is to be used as a proxy

7 Information on vacancies across all commercial property is not available, and so this measure is to be used as a proxy

8 No of registered businesses as given by Office for National Statistics as at 22/3/10

E3 – People can prosper as individuals and within their communities

Unemployment in Wrexham is not significantly worse than anywhere else in Wales however at 3.9% compared to Wales average of 4% it is not something we are complacent about especially in this tough economic climate. Increased, co-ordinated action to reduce unemployment is required to ensure the growth of Wrexham's economy is realised for the residents of Wrexham. Youth unemployment in Wrexham has been steadily rising and is amongst the highest in North Wales, targeted efforts are needed to reverse this trend.

Engaging inactive people in community activity and community learning is a recognised route to improving employability and improving community spirit and cohesion which lead to building strong, active and prosperous communities. Our focus will be on improving quality as much as on overall growth, ensuring that progression and impact are better built-in and measured, and that such engagement can make a real difference in terms of economic and social wellbeing.

If people have bank accounts they can save money – on utilities, mobile phones, credit and so on. Yet more than 28% of low earners in Wrexham don't have them, meaning that their low income has to pay disproportionately for the things that many take for granted. The initial target here is to work with partners to define and deliver a financial inclusion action plan that will show a reduction over the period.

We will monitor our success through:

Outcome Indicator Comparison Wrexham 2011/2012 Target 2012/2013 Target 2013/2014 Target 2014/2015 Target 2015/2016
Percentage of people aged 16-64 claiming Job Seekers Allowance 4 (Wales) 3.9 3.99 3.9 3.8 3.7
Percentage of key benefit claimants (Nomis definition) 18.4 (GB average 14.5%) 16.5% 16.5%10 16.5 15.5 14.5
Percentage of 18-24 population in Wrexham who claim Job Seekers Allowance 8.9 9.4 - Wales Average - 1% below Wales average
Number of people participating in community learning (top 25 most deprived communities) n/a 2000 2050 2100 2150 220011
Number of people participating in community volunteering (top 25 most deprived communities) n/a 1000 1025 1050 1075 1100
Number of people earning less than £15,000 with a mainstream bank account TBC 28.3% 28.3% 27.8% 27% 26.3%12

We will achieve this by:

  • Identifying a way forward with our partners to both reduce economic inactivity and respond to the challenges resulting from the Welfare Reform;
  • Increasing activities that encourage participation in learning and volunteering in order to increase community activity particularly in our 25 most deprived communities (as identified through Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2012);
  • Providing support in our rural communities to promote youth enterprise and sustainability to stimulate the rural economy and reduce youth unemployment; and
  • Working with our partners to reduce financial exclusion through provision of a co-ordinated range of services such as debt advice, access to mainstream banking (credit union) and supporting a reduction in fuel poverty.

9 Target is to maintain position below Wales average in first two years giving time for Employment Strategy to be determined and have initial impact in 2015, increasing gap below Wales average by further 0.1% each year. Percentages assume Wales average stays constant, and so would need to be revised annually to serve as 'tracker' figures rather than absolute figures.

10 As above, target is to maintain tracking position below Wales average initially, and to achieve further distance from Wales average as Employment Strategy takes effect. Assumptions about Wales average are as above.

11 Target is to steadily grow participation, seeing a 10% increase by 2016

12 Target is to reduce proportion of low earners without a bank account by 2% over the whole period

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