Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee is aligned to the County Durham Vision ambitions of 'More and better jobs' and the housing and transport elements of the 'Connected Communities'. The relevant Council Plan themes are 'Our Economy' with activity aimed at Durham having a thriving and inclusive economy with more and better jobs and fewer people suffering the hardships of poverty and deprivation and 'Our Communities' where Durham is a great county in which to live, with flourishing communities which are connected and supportive of each other.

Chair's welcome

The aim of Council and partners is to build an inclusive economy by creating more and better jobs in an inclusive, green economy, ensuring that no one is left behind by supporting businesses and developing a pipeline of projects and investment plans to stimulate recovery across the county.

Durham County Council is creating and nurturing major employment sites across the county, cementing our position as a premier place in the region to do business and building upon the success of the development of a number of strategic employment sites in the county.

The County Council is also supporting business growth, reducing their environmental impacts and through the County Durham Pound encouraging businesses to work together and support countywide growth. The Council is committed to ensuring that Children and Young People receive high quality education, training, and support to ensure that they have the skills required by employers whilst also having employability support programmes to help people back into work or to start their own business.

In addition, Durham County Council working with partners is looking at building our tourism offer in the county and also considering how we promote what the county currently has to offer. In relation to transport the Council is looking at the current provision of public transport and the various associated issues together with the implications resulting from devolution and the creation of the mayoral authority and in relation to housing Durham County Council is refreshing strategies to ensure that we have the right mix of housing, of the correct standard and at the right cost to meet housing need across the county.

The Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny has a key role in the development of various policies and strategies, providing comment on draft documents with those comments then used by the Service Grouping to develop the resulting strategy or policy. In addition, the committee is also involved in the development of any resulting delivery plans for the various strategies and will continue to monitor the progress of delivery against actions identified within those plans.

The committee works closely with the Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee looking at how we promote the tourism and cultural offer and how we can build that offer in the future. In relation to transport we are focusing on available funding, local provision including sustainable transport and the implications of devolution and the introduction of the new mayoral authority.

Find more information on the committee, meetings and agendas on our Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee page.

Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee activity

Considered and informed the development of Inclusive Economic Strategy and the resulting delivery plan (draft strategy November 2022 and draft delivery plan October 2023).
Considered the progress of key strategic employment sites in the county (September 2023).
Commented on and informed the development of the draft Destination Management Plan for County Durham (November 2023; 4 March 2024).
Considered how we currently manage major programmes and projects within Durham County Council with detail provided on several key Regeneration, Economy and Growth projects (November 2023).
Considered and informed the future development of both the Housing and Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategies (December 2023; April 2024)

The committee considered and commented on: