Agenda item

Strategic Regeneration Framework

Minutes:

PhilDavies

Councillor Phil Davies, Leader of the Council, said:

 

Driving regeneration, creating jobs and ensuring sustainable, long-term growth in our economy is vitally important.

 

Our Wirral Plan places economic growth at its heart: making sure our residents are able to access good, high paying jobs in a stable and thriving economy brings almost immeasurable benefits to all areas of our community, and helps bring us closer to achieving all of our 20 pledges.

 

This Strategic Regeneration Framework provides the route map to achieve it.  It clearly defines our plans for future development and investment by providing the robust evidence base, sound principles and strategic drivers on which to plan future regeneration.

 

Achieving the ambitions set out in this Framework will enable us to deliver the thriving economy we all want for Wirral residents”.

 

Councillor Phil Davies introduced a report, which informed that The Wirral Plan set out a vision for Wirral; a set of 20 Pledges which would be achieved over the next five years to improve the lives of Wirral residents.  Driving economic growth was a key theme of the Wirral Plan and the Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) would support the following pledges:

 

·  Greater Job Opportunities in Wirral

·  Thriving Small Businesses

·  Increase Inward Investment.

 

The SRF provided a strong vision for regeneration across Wirral over the next 10-15 years and set the scene for shaping future investments.

 

Councillor Davies reported that driving regeneration, creating jobs and ensuring sustainable, long-term growth in the local economy was critical.  The opportunities set out in the SRF were based on an assessment of what was realistically deliverable but would require focused energy and resources from a range of partners including the private sector if they were to be achieved.

 

The SRF had been subject to public consultation to gain the views of residents and businesses and these had been consulted when finalising the document.  The next stage of work would be to produce a series of place making plans for priority areas to help shape future development in line with the SRF to support the setting up and proposals of the Wirral Growth Company.

 

Councillor Davies told the Cabinet that by the end of the year all the pieces would be in place so that the Council could forge ahead with an exciting regeneration agenda that would ensure the growth of the local economy and generate additional income. 

 

Councillor George Davies informed that the SRF was an exciting document for Wirral.  Since the 1980s Birkenhead had been in decline and was now in need of a face lift.  The SRF would provide the stimulus to do that and to bring Wirral back to its former glory.

 

Councillor Matthew Patrick informed that he was very pleased with this positive partnership approach that would utilise the Council’s resources and influence with private sector help and investors.  He considered the SRF to be an attractive opportunity for investors to invest in Wirral and that it was very important to bring extra funding into Wirral.

 

Councillor Phil Davies reminded the Cabinet that by 2021 the Government would not be providing rate support grant and the Council would have to be entirely self-financing.  Consequently, there was a big emphasise on transformation to establish innovative and creative ways to deliver vital public services.  Local Authorities in the north of the country faced serious financial problems whilst those in the south did not have the same pressures.  The Government had unfairly cut budgets in the areas of the country where there were the highest levels of deprivation and poverty. The Government was currently practising austerity but Councillor Patrick hoped that it would bring this to an end soon.  In the meantime, the Council would have to work smarter to ensure that it could continue to provide vital public services. 

 

Councillor Davies was of the view that good prudent planning for the future would create extra jobs and investment in the Borough and this would feed into the work of the Wirral Growth Company.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  the Cabinet endorses the Strategic Regeneration Framework – to be used to support regeneration activity, the ambitions of the Wirral Growth Company, Liverpool City Region strategies and future funding applications; and

 

(2)  it be recommended to the Council:

 

  That

 

(a)  the Strategic Regeneration Framework be adopted as a material planning consideration in relation to development proposals which come forward; and

 

(b)  the Strategic Regeneration Framework be used to inform the content of the emerging Core Strategy Local Plan.

Supporting documents: