Memorandum submitted by Torbay Development
Agency
1. For decades Torbay has been overshadowed
by the more pressing demands for regeneration funding exhibited
by Bristol, Plymouth and Cornwall. However, whilst these areas
have been benefiting from hundreds of millions of pounds of public
investment and the creation of substantial delivery infrastructures,
Torbay has been declining fast. Most tellingly, within the South
West Torbay now has:
— The lowest GVA per head, at two thirds
the national average;
— The lowest level of average earnings,
at around 2/3 the national average;
— Lower levels of economic activity
than the regional and national averages;
— Relative to working age population,
the highest proportion of Benefits Claimants of any local authority;
and
— The highest percentage of people
not qualified to at least NVQ Level 2 and the lowest percentage
qualified to Level 4 or above.
EMPLOYMENT SPLIT (2005)
|
| Torbay (%)
| South West (%) |
GB (%) |
|
| Full time employment | 56.1
| 64.1 | 67.9
|
| Part-time employment | 43.9
| 35.9 | 32.1
|
|
| Source: ONS Annual Population Survey
|
OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE (2007)
|
| Torbay (%)
| South West (%) |
GB (%) |
|
| Managers/Senior officials | 15.2
| 15.6 | 15.1
|
| Professional | 10.8
| 12.9 | 13.0
|
| Associate Prof. & technical | 11.5
| 13.6 | 14.3
|
| Admin & secretarial | 9.2
| 11.9 | 12.0
|
| Skilled trades | 13.6
| 12.2 | 10.9
|
| Personal Services | 10.0
| 8.2 | 8.1
|
| Sales & Customer services | 9.9
| 7.3 | 7.6
|
| Process Plant & Machine Op's | 5.8
| 6.5 | 7.2
|
| Elementary Occupations | 13.9
| 11.6 | 11.5
|
|
Source: ONS Annual Population Survey
BENEFIT CLAIMANTS
|
| Number of claimants
| % of working age population
|
|
| England and Wales | 4,744,205
| 14.9 |
| South West | 358,395
| 12.2 |
| Torbay | 13,995
| 19.2 |
|
TOP 10 SECTORS BY GVA (£M CONSTANT 2003 PRICES)
|
| Sector | 2000
| 2007 | 2012
|
|
| Health & Social Care | 157.4
| 192.3 | 222.9
|
| Business Services | 74.2
| 156.9 | 212.3
|
| Retail | 102.8
| 141.9 | 163.6
|
| Construction | 83.9
| 119.3 | 142.5
|
| Tourism & Leisure | 91.1
| 116.8 | 137.0
|
| Wholesaling | 72.0
| 91.2 | 114.5
|
| Other Financial & Bus. Services | 48.2
| 83.3 | 111.0
|
| Public Admin. & Defence | 82.8
| 78.0 | 77.5
|
| Education | 76.1
| 72.4 | 79.3
|
| Electrical & Optical Equipment | 125.6
| 60.1 | 88.3
|
| Source: ABI, NOMI |
| | |
|
TOP 10 SECTORS BY EMPLOYMENT
|
| Sector | 2000
| 2007 | 2012
|
|
| Health & Social Care | 9,810
| 10,880 | 11,460
|
| Retail | 7,960
| 8,160 | 8,290
|
| Tourism & Leisure | 5,610
| 6,480 | 7,090
|
| Business Services | 3,720
| 6,210 | 6,830
|
| Construction | 3,530
| 4,440 | 4,930
|
| Education | 3,480
| 4,260 | 4,080
|
| Wholesaling | 3,060
| 2,830 | 2,950
|
| Other Financial & Bus. Services | 1,390
| 2,120 | 2,470
|
| Public Admin. & Defence | 1,970
| 1,900 | 1,800
|
| Electrical & Optical Equipment | 3,470
| 1,360 | 1,690
|
|
Source: ABI, NOMIS
2. These issues not unique to Torbay other coastal resorts
all report problems with
— the migrant labour force,
— coastal public costs in particular health and
social care,
— coastal defences, in many cases coastal defences
also amenities for visitors & residents.
3. A particular problem in a built up resort is managing
the conflicting uses for space in waterfront area; which include
retail, residential, public open space, marine leisure, other
marine businesses requires careful management through the planning
process
WHAT WE
HAVE DONE
SINCE 2004
4. Torquay Waterfront Regeneration (Phases 1-3 and investment
in Living Coasts attraction) public grants as an enabler with
a range of work to improve area including new slipway, bridge,
harbour cill and lining. In total of £8 million of public
grant has enabled over £20M of further investment. Important
to note that this latter investment depends on good prevailing
economic conditions and in a downturn a return for the public
investment may take longer to realise.
5. Torbay Innovation Centres - partnership with South
Devon College to promote enterprise, similar process to Higher
Education business incubation. One site open and 90% full in 15
months, second site due to complete in summer. There have been
55 new jobs created in the centre and a further 87 new business
start ups from the support provided.
6. Brixham—major regeneration programme aimed at
both ensuring more value comes from the fishing industry and that
the town has a broader economic base. Diverse cocktail of funding
from European and Government sources.
7. Developed a new Economic Regeneration Strategy which
underpins the above and is at the heart of the Council and Strategic
Partnerships plans. It sets out our key sectors which areTourism
and leisure; Retail; Advanced engineering; Fishing; Marine; Environmental/Marine
Science; Health and Social Care; Other Value Added Manufacturing.
(a) The issues of raising value of employment, skill levels
and reaching our most deprived areas run through this strategy.
(b) The strength weakness analysis in this has Tourism
down in all boxes because it's a key sector but currently we need
to move our offer and adapt to a different market.
WHAT WE
ARE TRYING
TO DO
8. Fighting our case. Trying to raise the area's profile
and recognition of the needs and opportunities. Our regional partners
are fully supportive and the big challenge is to have our case
understood within Whitehall.
9. New European Competitiveness programme—Torbay
is one of three priority areas in the region and over 2007-13
will be to access around £10 million of EU funding. Through
the programme we are looking to support our businesses better
than they have been before including tourism and other service
sector businesses. Other priorities include issues of skills and
employability. One constraint is the lack of other public funding
to be used as match because as alluded to in paragraph 1 Torbay
has been passed over by different Government programmes most recently
Working Neighbourhood Fund despite being the 71st most deprived
area in the country on the most recent Index of Multiple Deprivation.
10. Business Improvement District—the private sector
is leading the development of a BID programme for Torbay with
Torbay Council and Torbay Development Agency support. The intention
is to hold a ballot before Easter 2009. This is important because
retail is an vital sector to both residents and tourists as its
one of the top activities. A five year BID in Torquay is estimated
at being worth around £1 million.
11. New Growth Points—recognising that Torbay is
a principal urban area and looking at how through this process
we can bring forward housing, employment and supporting infrastructure
against the spatial strategy.
12. Mayoral Vision—using NGP sought to rationalise
over 300 different project ideas that were around within the community
the Vision sets out how the physical environment of Torbay can
support the wider aims of developing Torbay as the place it should
be.
13. At a lower level we are to be partners in a project on
coastal inequalities looking at what we can do within UK and Northern
France to see if there are common issues.
14. Welcome the introduction of the Seaside Resort Fund,
we are working closely with our RDA on this but are concerned
at the low level of funding allocated to this scheme across England.
Other Departments such as DWP, CLG should be encouraged to see
if they could contribute to a fund with broader aims based on
evidenced need in coastal tourism areas.
15. Welcome the sub national review of and note support for
recommendations, in particular the explicit recognition of local
areas role and devolution of funding from RDA to local areas.
16. We are also looking to promote and develop Social Enterprise
opportunities where much of the region has seen good success and
the nature of Torbay's problems means that this type of scheme
could have real and sustainable impacts on economic deprivation
locally.
CONSTRAINTS
17. Profile & perception—Within Whitehall,
certainly outside the region, people think palm trees and beaches
but Torbay is 71st most deprived area in country with some acute
and typically inner city type of problems right next to seven
figure properties.
18. We continue, in Torbay, to just miss out on key award
criteria, it harms our ability to lead regeneration work latest
example if the Working Neighbourhood Fund. Only one round of Single
Regeneration Budget and our access to European funding is limited
because of difficulty around match because the case for coastal
areas not typically well understood.
WHERE THE
COMMITTEE CAN
HELP
19. In endorsing the findings of the CLG Select Committee
on Coastal Towns and in particular the call for better research
to understand the problems of coastal towns and resorts in particular
and the need for a more consistent approach across Whitehall.
20. In encouraging DEFRA to review it's investment in
sea and flood defences through the Flood and Coastal Erosion Management
Grants to enable it to support projects that serve a wider public
function.
21. Recommending an early review of the Seaside Resort programme
run by DCMS with a view to seeking an extension over a longer
period of time and/or an increase in the funding allocated to
it if demand proves exceptional. Given that small and medium size
businesses make up the bulk of tourism businesses it is unfair
to expect the private sector to support public realm investment.
Government and it's agencies should be encouraged to develop
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