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Wirral Investment strategy - a personal view by cabinet member for regeneration, Cllr Pat Hackett
We all know the situation at present.
Its nothing new and those job loses have been mainly down to global decisions totally out of our control.
But even so we have not sat idly by and watched those job loses develop we have been pro-active particularly recently at the Burton plant thanks to the fantastic work of our officers and Wallasey's MP whose skills and tenacity helped to save 400 jobs.
We have also given help in many ways in the past to ensure that particular factory stayed open and I know those workers and their families are entirely grateful to the work of this Council for that.
Notwithstanding that we are of course taking steps not just in the short term but well into the future to eradicate problems of unemployment and reach a target of 76% employment by 2012 and make sure as part of Wirral's Investment Strategy that we achieve our goal of turning Wirral into a booming economy for potential investors and all our citizens.
If I may start to show how we are about to achieve that as Wirral is about to undergo a transformation of the kind that will put us on the map regionally, nationally and internationally.
We have a vast array of schemes either going ahead in the pipeline or in the preparation stage.
From the huge £4.5b Peel Wirral Waters plans that members saw at the presentation and which is about to start at Wallasey and Birkenhead docks which will utterly change the face of the Wirral in its sheer scale & size over the next 30 years creating potentially 27,000 new jobs.
To the dynamic plans for Woodside further along were the Council is working with private-sector developers to drive the regeneration of this landmark site, creating a high quality development mixing commercial buildings with leisure and residential uses.
Over £100million of private sector investment and potentially over 1000 new jobs created.
Merseytravel are also currently investing £3.5 million into the new submarine visitor attraction at Woodside.
We have the £12m Spaceport attraction now in place that is proving very popular and bringing thousands of visitors to the Wirral, further along we have the £1m Pride in our Promenades Initiative transforming the promenade between Seacombe and New Brighton, at the end of the promenade we see the start of the £70m Neptune New Brighton project again bringing thousands of jobs with it and were we see the new Floral Pavilion Theatre, Conference Centre and Town Square developments now taking shape (with the cranes gone up) as part of the first phase.
The ever-expanding Wirral International Business Park is another success story that is also putting Wirral on the map and continuing to create flourishing businesses and jobs for Wirral residents.
£150m has been invested with over 50 hectares of land improved and we continue to build on that with further plans & developments.
Further along we have the magnificent plans / proposals afoot for Hoylake and West Kirby following on from the success of the Open golf championship, were we see that £300,000 has been invested in West Kirby Coastal improvements with potentially £10 million to come in The Sail' project.
If I may dwell on this area just for a moment; at this fantastic Wirral location we also have a proposed Golf Resort in Hoylake that will generate a potential private sector led investment of £75 million which of course builds on the success of the Open and the £2.8 million worth of improvements already completed or underway in the town.
It goes without saying that it's beholden on all of us to come together around Wirral's Investment Strategy and the regeneration coming into our borough. We all have a civic duty and responsibility as elected members in our different wards to display strong leadership during the consultation phases with all these schemes and to act in the best interests of the Wirral.
That's why I urge Council to ensure Wirral will be acting as a beacon of hope for future generations who I firmly believe will look back on us as inspirational civic figures proud to have laid the foundations of change as we forge ahead to create a dynamic & vibrant Wirral that we can all be proud of.
To finish on a positive note if I may and give the Council some further information on the initiatives and strategies we are putting place.
The www.investwirral.com website and accompanying marketing literature and advertising was launched in July 2007 and has attracted significant interest from overseas, notably the United States and China.
Dedicated support is available to businesses seeking to develop sites and premises in Wirral, or move into the area. The Council has worked hard to ensure eligibility for European structural funding through the 2007-2013 Northwest Operational Programme.
368 business start-ups have been assisted since April 2006, against an LAA target of 165. All workless ness targets have been met in Neighbourhood Renewal Areas reducing Incapacity and Lone Parent claims.
A comprehensive investment strategy is now in place to guide Wirral's economic development over the next decade. Full employment and enterprise strategies have also been developed to tackle workless ness and grow businesses.
The Wirral full Employment Strategy has improved communications between partners and also helped to improve the demand led focus of services. Skill and Employment Provision needs to meet the changing Wirral economy and respond to the opportunities presented by Wirral Waters, Woodside, Hoylake Golf Resort and Wirral International Business Park's continued growth.
Through the newly formed Wirral Economic Development and Skills (WEDS) Partnership, a greater understanding of employer requirements is being developed to inform demand led provision to provide skills for the existing and future employment opportunities in Wirral. Commissioning activities have been aligned to provide more targeted investment for employment and skills activities to respond to new developments.
The partnership is also currently involved in identifying the best ways to engage with Wirral businesses to support them with training and recruitment.
Key Employment and Skills projects
Reach Out - offers employment support to hard to reach communities, reducing the number of benefit claimants disengaged from mainstream employment support services.
Wirralbiz - this programme has been extremely successful in developing sustainable businesses within Wirral and places particular emphasis on supporting enterprise in the areas of greatest need.
We have also attracted £28m over three years with a new pot of money called the Working Neighbourhoods Fund designed to use ground breaking methods to tackle the scrounge of workless ness in our communities
All in All, I firmly believe that it's an exciting time for the Wirral that will leave a lasting impression and legacy for generations to come as we move forward with favourable business conditions creating thousands and thousands of jobs as we continue particularly to build on the fantastic array of regeneration schemes that we are putting in place to totally transform the Wirral.
10:03am Wednesday 19th March 2008
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