Agenda item

The Board received a briefing note and presentation on the Guildford Economic Report 2018.  The report was not formally published but the information was shared with key partners.  The report gathered information which helped with Guildford’s existing Economic Strategy to understand how we are performing and to give us a steer on economic trends.  Guildford’s economy was compared against four other key economic centres; Basingstoke and Deane, Rushmoor, Winchester and Woking.  For example, Winchester ranked highly in initiating new start-up companies.  Business cases could be compiled based upon such information and was a valued tool within the business community.  In terms of the strategic context, the government has asked all Local Enterprise Partnerships to produce a Local Industrial Strategy with a strong focus on raising  productivity levels in the UK.   Guildford Borough Council had published its own Innovation Strategy to drive innovation within its own economy and to encourage investment in SMART infrastructure.  The national average for spend on research and development in the private sector is 1% but recent figures from EM3 LEP is that companies locally are spending 2.8% above the national average.  

The Board noted that it was also about working to scale and that whatever Guildford did was part of the wider context.  The Gross Value Added (GVA) for Guildford now stands at £5.5 billion.  Guildford was in the top ten of the Lambert Smith Hampton Economic Vitality Index and are aligned with Oxford and Cambridge.  The health of the economy was not just driven by economic figures but factors such as social cohesion and quality of life were also key to Guildford’s success.  Recently, Guildford had experienced a reduction in the number of people employed which was largely associated with corporate companies relocating and downsizing as well as an observed decline in the survival rate of start-up businesses.  Availability of A-Grade office space is now quite significant, but the provision of flexible start-up space needs to be increased. 

The retail industry had experienced a decline in the number of enterprises and the numbers employed in the sector and the vacancy rate of shops stood at 5.8% set against a national average of 7% although anecdotally the vacancy rate appears to have worsened since these figures were issued in April. Guildford was neither the cheapest place to do business and frequently experienced employees have, being lost to companies in London.  In terms of housing, property remained expensive in Guildford and people struggled with the associated costs.  This encouraged more people to travel in but which in turn caused congestion issues. A current initiative was how to make the economy greener.  The Council has agreed to support a bid for European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) led by Kent County Council that includes business grants for SMES to improve their energy efficiency and carbon footprint.  The Council needed to explore how it could work better in collaboration with other businesses to bring such efficiencies into reality. 

The Board discussed the presentation and made the following comments:

·        Reassured to hear that Guildford was in good health economically.

·        Noted the key obstacles for companies locating in Guildford were affordable housing, long commute, skills availability, automation, technology, lack of cash incentives and flexible co-working spaces. 

·        Noted that Guildford also needed to support people in trades as well as nurses, doctors and carers who were disadvantaged by the high property costs in Guildford both to buy or rent. 

·       Relieved that the Council was not able to offer cash incentives as that often resulted in less for all. 

·       It appeared difficult to find office space which catered for average sized businesses when conversely smaller and larger office spaces seemed easier to find.

·        The Board noted that the Council had undertaken a detailed survey of office space for start-up businesses.  both in the middle range. 

 ·       Noted a high degree of economic disparity existed in Guildford which had a lot of high-end retail shops serving a small group of well-paid employees whilst the retail workers were relatively low paid, and there appeared to be no middle ground. 

·        The Local Plan has made provision for the Surrey Research Park to be extended by 10ha.

·       The Board noted that there were more networking groups in Guildford emerging whereby business entrepreneurs could make connections with each other.

·       The Board noted the need to create more succinct clusters of amenities, shops and business space so that a vibrant economy was sustained.

·      The gaming industry recruited via international recruitment agencies and other areas of competition for the economy in general includes The Thames Valley, West London and Staines.

·      The Board considered that with the advent of the internet, companies did not necessarily need to be in a conventional office, and that the associated costs of renting office space would in turn be reduced.