Our Big Econ-versation continues

What's the latest?

Background

Between January and April 2022, we held our Big Econ-versation with residents, businesses, and other organisations to support the development of a new Inclusive Economic Strategy.

You told us the key things you want for County Durham are:

• better job opportunities
• better skills and education provision
• support for businesses to thrive and grow
• town centres and neighbourhoods to be revived
• better access to training, jobs, and local services
• more visitors and investment
• poverty to be reduced and quality of life to be improved

We used this feedback to shape the draft strategy. We tested our thoughts and ideas further with a range of partners, organisations and members of the public during May to July 2022. This helped us to shape the strategy including the vision, priorities, and how we can work in partnership with others to deliver the actions.

About the Strategy

This is our first Inclusive Economic Strategy. While it aims to provide a long term view to 2035, it will work with other strategies and plans, including the Poverty Action Plan and Climate Emergency Response Plan.

The Strategy includes existing and new actions where we and our partners believe we can make changes. Some actions will be county wide and some local. A detailed action plan will be developed once the strategy is agreed by our Cabinet. 

At the heart of the strategy is a simple ambition: more and better jobs in an inclusive and green economy. To achieve this the strategy sets a framework for an inclusive economy, focusing on People, Productivity, Places, Promotion and Planet.

• Our People theme delivers our ambition by enabling residents to access economic opportunities and excel in business and their careers
• Our Productivity theme delivers our ambition by supporting local wealth creation and retention
• Our Places theme delivers our ambition by developing places and infrastructure so that people and businesses thrive
• Our Promotion theme delivers our ambition by promoting our county and its assets and opportunities to businesses, investors, visitors, and residents

Within each theme, we have specific actions related to green growth. The target for County Durham to become net zero has been brought forward to 2045. The Climate Emergency Plan sets out how we need to be at the forefront of the clean, green, industrial revolution. This strategy needs to complement these plans by investing in people, technologies, research and development, and business.

In delivering the strategy, we will work together with our partners to use the resources at our disposal as a county including:

• our assets including the land and property owned by us and our partners
• our policies including planning, skills, public health and transport
• programmes and funding including UK Shared Prosperity Fund and attract as much external investment as possible

The strategy also includes a list of early actions across the themes. Our next steps are to develop a detailed action plan and monitoring framework to deliver against our Strategy.

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