North Yorkshire County Council
A plan to deliver economic recovery and growth 2021 - 2024
1.0 Introduction and Foreword
This document outlines North Yorkshire County Council’s vision for economic growth and identifies its role in supporting this aspiration. This plan for growth recognises the wider benefits and impacts that economic prosperity has in addressing inequalities in health , educational attainment and future opportunity and highlights the contribution made to shared aspirations across the County Council’s statutory responsibilities as well as those of partners and stakeholders, particularly in District Council’s and National Parks Authorities.
Vision: North Yorkshire is a place with a strong economy and a commitment to sustainable growth that enables everyone to fulfil their ambitions and aspirations.
Foreword
By Executive Member Cllr Andrew Lee
Welcome to the North Yorkshire County Council Plan for Economic Growth 2020-2023. This document provides a vision and a framework for stimulating North Yorkshire’s economy and giving our businesses and residents the best possible chance to succeed.
The pandemic has had devastating impacts on some of the residents and businesses of North Yorkshire. I am proud of the work done by my colleagues at the County Council and our partners to stabilise the economy. Now, more than ever we must come together to provide the essential services across this large and varied population and find local solutions which is why this plan sits alongside and complements the Economic Recovery Plan for North Yorkshire and the York and North Yorkshire and East Riding LEPs Plan to Reshape our Economy.
We have refocussed the enablers that sit at the heart of this plan in all areas, in particular to drive forward our zero carbon ambitions, ensuring all of our residents, whether out of school or re-training, have the skills provision they need to succeed. We have also refocused our public health enabler to ‘Live Well’. Focusing on a wider agenda for building strong communities but of course keeping our residents safe.
Above all we need an economic growth plan that gives the County
Council the agility to take advantage of the opportunities to
reshape our economy over the next three
years.
2.0 Vision and Objectives
North Yorkshire is a place with a strong economy and a commitment to sustainable growth that enables everyone to fulfil their ambitions and aspirations.
Objectives
- A larger business base and increased number of good quality jobs in North Yorkshire.
- People across the county have equal access to economic opportunities
- Increased overall average median wage
3.0 The 2017 Plan for Economic Growth
This revised Plan for Economic Growth is a continuation of the previous plan developed in 2017 and published in 2018. Since then the following programmes have been delivered:
- Completion of a Spatial Framework for York, North Yorkshire and East Riding.
- Creation of Brierley Homes, NYCC owned commercial housing developer.
- Delivery of key development schemes including Dalton Business Park access, Bedale Bypass, North Northallerton infrastructure.
- Completion of key resilience projects including replacement of Tadcaster Bridge, repair of flood affected roads in the Yorkshire Dales. Improvements to A59 at Kex Gill.
- Work with rail operators to improve services between Scarborough and York.
- Support for LEP skills and employment programmes including capital investment in further education facilities.
- Work to improve NYCC’s Adult Learning and Skills Service.
- NYCC apprenticeships.
- Delivery of the Healthy Workplace Programme.
- Engagement with planning for healthier places.
- Joint development of Better Business for All programme by Trading Standards.
- Proactive approach to supporting legitimate business through Trading Standards.
- Supporting infrastructure development at key commercial and industrial sites including Dalton Park and Malton Food Enterprise Zone.
- Support for Local Nature Partnerships across North Yorkshire.
- Development of Natural Capital Asset mapping and remote sensing programmes.
- Work to identify opportunities for electric vehicle charging and low carbon transport.
- Delivery of Tour de Yorkshire cycle stages and support for Welcome to Yorkshire.
- Ongoing to work to deliver improved digital mobile communications in rural areas including the development of Mobile Access North Yorkshire (MANY) programme.
- Engagement with Government and mobile operators in respect of 5G development
- Ongoing rollout of fibre broadband through NYCC’s NYNET subsidiary.
4.0 Priorities for the next four years
North Yorkshire will be a modern economy characterised by high quality, efficient transport and communications, higher levels of entrepreneurialism and opportunities for younger people to access good quality employment and affordable housing opportunities.
Alongside this an attractive and active quality of life, high quality affordable housing provision and access to cultural experiences will be important in attracting and retaining skills and knowledge as well as ensuring a healthy and happy workforce.
Enablers of Economic Growth – what we will do to achieve our aims:
Enabler 1. Create high quality places, increased housing provision and delivering infrastructure - Working with partners, NYCC will support the development and delivery of strategic housing and employment sites alongside the required infrastructure to create high quality employment opportunities, housing provision (especially affordable housing), education and health care for everyone. Working with partners and stakeholders NYCC will support the regeneration of town centres rethinking the allocation of road space to create public realm that is accessible, safe, healthy and business friendly. NYCC will take a leadership role ensuring agility to take advantage of evolving government policy and funding opportunities
Enabler 2. Deliver a modern integrated transport network - Delivering the Council’s Local Transport Plan, improving transport to, between and within all of our towns, (especially east-west links) to improve access to markets, skills and supply chains within the County and the rest of the UK. A strong focus on the use of the public realm and highway to allow access to business in a safe way. Active and sustainable travel including electric vehicle charging to enable the County Council to reach its carbon reduction goals.
Enabler 3. Increase skills levels and ensure that the workforce meets the needs of the County - Ensure a clear pathway for young people from education to training and employment. Undertake measures to support the development of the workforce that meet the social and economic needs of the County. NYCC will work with partners, including the Local Enterprise Partnership, to support skills and training provision in North Yorkshire and seek to ensure that it meets the needs of North Yorkshire businesses and supports the aspirations of all the people of North Yorkshire as we emerge from the Coronavirus pandemic and adapt to new ways of working.
Enabler 4. Live well - Through working in partnership, to create fair employment and good work for all, we encourage a healthy standard of living and enable all working age people to live well. . The focus will be on creating Strong Communities that are complete and compact. In doing this we will seek to address inequality of opportunity, and recognise the challenges presented by health inequalities across North Yorkshire. Ensuring public safety through North Yorkshire County Councils Outbreak management plan we will focus on workplace settings, as they evolve, Leisure and Tourism and Housing, specifically houses of multiple occupancy.
Enabler 5. Creating the right conditions for business growth and investment - By promoting good growth across the County that is clean and inclusive. NYCC will seek to support investment projects by working closely with partners to facilitate business growth, inward investment and development of low carbon technologies and seek to raise the median and lowest wage levels across the County. Through its Trading Standards and licensing functions NYCC will continue to support legitimate businesses to trade successfully, recover from the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and promote good growth.
Enabler 6. Enhancing the environment, developing tourism and the green economy:
By taking measures to reduce the Council’s carbon footprint to net zero by 2030, NYCC move towards the UK’s net zero carbon emissions goal by 2050 (UK Government target).
We will grow the green economy and support economic resilience by protecting the County’s environment, ecology and heritage assets and by supporting environmental initiatives, which increase the value of agriculture, enhance biodiversity and reduce the impact of climate change, particularly in relation to severe flood events.
Continue to support regional tourism by delivering world-class events and develop the County’s cultural offer for the benefit of local communities and the visitor economy.
Enabler 7. Deliver a modern communications network – With the increased prevalence of home working a modern communications network is more important than ever. NYCC will continue to work alongside partners towards delivering mobile phone and data connectivity in currently unserved rural areas promoting 4G infill in areas of poor coverage and moving towards the roll out of new 5G technology to support rural businesses. Alongside this we will maintain our support for enhanced fibre broadband provision across North Yorkshire and the integration of mobile and broadband services to provide seamless access to the internet and telecommunications networks for all users.
5.0 The economy in North Yorkshire:
The population of North Yorkshire is 618,000.
In September 2020 the number of people economically active was 293,400. This represents a reduction from a peak of 318,200 in 2016.
In September 2020 just 5,100 people or 1.7% of the economically active were unemployed compared to 4.2% nationally. Throughout the covid-19 pandemic unemployment has remained below national levels although the economic impact on the county’s hospitality industry has been significant with up to 40% of the workforce furloughed at some point during the crisis.
Weekly earnings by place of residence in North Yorkshire are on average £552 compared with £587 nationally. Weekly earnings by workplace are below this however at £516. There are discrepancies across North Yorkshire with Richmondshire District having the lowest weekly wages by residence at £460 and Harrogate the highest at £604, a difference of £144 a week or £7,488 per annum.
Productivity measured by gross vaue added (GVA) per head of population is £23,376 in 2018. This compares with £20,191 in the East Riding of Yorkshire, £18,959 in Lincolnshire, £16,588 in Northumberland and £30,258 in York. In 2018 the average for the UK as a whole was £28,729.
North Yorkshire has sectorial strengths in manufacturing, accommodation and food, and logistics and transport. The chart below highlights the different industries in the County compared to national averages.
Tourism is an important part of the economy in North Yorkshire generating an estimated £1.5bn of visitor spend each year and supporting 41,000 jobs.
6.0 Economic Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and a Framework for Economic Recovery
In the UK, it has been estimated that the national economy fell by 9.9% in 2020 compared with 2021. This is the largest reduction in economic output for 300 years. Given the start of the Pandemic began in March 2020, and lockdown regulations remain in force in the spring of 2021, the 2020/21 financial year is expected to see an even greater reduction in output. Officer estimates, based on the sectorial makeup of the county, and using a methodology similar to that of the Office for Budgetary responsibility indicate that the reduction in economic output in North Yorkshire during the financial year could be around 15%.
At the height of the covid-19 lockdown restrictions the number of jobs furloughed through the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme reached 6.8m of which 1.65m were in the accommodation and food sector. North Yorkshire was among the regions with the highest levels of furloughed employees reaching almost 40% of the workforce.
It is estimated by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility that the cost to the treasury of the Covid-19 pandemic could be as much as £340bn, taking public sector net debt to almost 100% of GDP for the first time since the mid-1960s.
North Yorkshire Strategic Framework for Economic Recovery
The framework for economic recovery represents a short to medium term response to the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis. The framework is informed by the Plan for Economic Growth and the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s ‘Reshaping the Economy’ document.
A vision for the County’s recovery from the economic crisis brought about by the Covid-19 Pandemic is that:
The economy of North Yorkshire is re-established and fully functioning. It is diverse, resilient, innovative and agile. The County Council’s services and infrastructure are focused on supporting the socio-economic well-being of our residents, businesses and visitors. Businesses and public sector agencies are positioned to take advantage of new and emerging opportunities.
To deliver this vision, the Council will implement and monitor a countywide framework for economic recovery – providing the County Council’s response to Covid-19 economic recovery, bridging the gap between the sub regional and local, addressing issues that are common to a number of authorities and sectors within North Yorkshire, and reflects the functions of the County Council. Focused on supporting the socio-economic well-being of our residents, businesses and visitors.
Goal and Objectives
Drawing on the Vision, Goals and Objectives, the following strategic objectives have been identified.
Overarching Goal - To revitalise the North Yorkshire economy so that it can meet the short term needs of business and the community during the recovery phase(s) whist laying the foundations to establish a more resilient and inclusive Greener, Fairer & Stronger economy in line with the strategic direction of the York & North Yorkshire LEP’s Economic Recovery Plan and Local Industrial Strategy, the County Council’s Plan for Economic Growth and the York, North Yorkshire, East Riding and Hull Spatial Framework.
Objectives:
- Establish business support mechanisms and business friendly regulatory frameworks
- Restore business confidence and regional brand/identity
- Align people, skills and labour markets
- Enable investment and funding – public & private
- Identify growth opportunities, including infrastructure
- Regenerate town centres to function well at the heart of local communities
- Retaining viable existing business
- Diversification and expansion of priority sectors
- Invest recovery funding strategically
7.0 Strategic Context
The North Yorkshire Plan for Economic Growth and the Strategic Framework have been developed in the context of the York and North Yorkshire Local Industrial Strategy, The York and North Yorkshire covid recovery plan ‘Reshaping our Economy’ and the York and North Yorkshire Proposals For Devolution. The York and North Yorkshire Devolution Deal shares it’s vision with the Local Industrial Strategy.
Our vision is for York and North Yorkshire to become England’s first carbon negative region. The Local Industrial Strategy contributes to this, by transforming the way our economy works to deliver a carbon negative, circular economy that increases productivity and provides higher paid jobs.
8.0 Key Performance Indicators.
The following economic performance indicators are carried over from the previous Plan to Deliver Economic Growth. They will be refined and monitored by the Growth Plan Steering Group.
|
Indicator |
2016 baseline |
2020 target |
actuals |
|
1. Total number of full and part time jobs in North Yorkshire
|
253,900 |
275,000 |
266,000 (2019) |
|
2. Median average weekly wage by residence
|
£487.70 |
At or above inflation |
£552 (2020) |
|
3. Number of LSOA’s in the 20% most deprived nationally
|
17 |
13 |
17 – no new data (2015) |
|
4. GVA per head of population
|
£21,801 |
£24,000 |
£23,376 (2018) |
|
5. No of young people not in employment or training
|
610 / 3.4% |
0 |
1010 / 8.8% NEET or not known; of which only 1% or 10 individuals known to be NEET (2020) |
|
6. Superfast Broadband and mobile phone coverage
|
95% |
100% coverage of high speed and / or latest generation mobile |
Remains at 95% |
