Issue - meetings

To receive the Chair’s Annual Report for 2024/2025. The report provides an opportunity to recognise the achievements of the previous year whilst also allowing discussion to take place regarding aspirations for the coming year.

The Group had before it and NOTED the * Chair’s Annual Report for 2024/2025. The Chair indicated that whilst this provided a useful summary of the work that the Group had undertaken during the previous 12 months he also wanted the Group to use it as a tool to plan for the year ahead. The intention was for this report to highlight the successes of the previous year, the highs, the lows, the challenges, the opportunities created and it also needed to set out the realistic aspirations for the coming 12 months. He hoped that it could be used to inform an agenda item at the first meeting of each new municipal year.

The officer highlighted the key achievements during 2024/2025 many of which had been included in his presentation under the previous item. These included but were not limited to the following:

·       The Swan Trail.

·       The Walking Festival.

·       Business presence at the Mid Devon Show.

·       Meet the Producer competition.

·       Devon Agri-Tech Alliance.

·       22 businesses supported through the Food and Drink programme.

·       Shop Front Enhancements.

·       Media campaigns.

·       The Heritage Asset Zone work in Cullompton including the cultural programme.

·       The Crediton Masterplan had been adopted.

·       Key infrastructure including the receipt of funding for the Cullompton Relief Road.

·       Progress on J28.

·       National Rail initiatives.

·       The setting up of a new Strategic Business Forum.

·       Administration of the Green Grants Scheme.

The Chair stated that on behalf of the Group he wanted it placed on record that this was an exceptional list of achievements given how small the team were. He wished to express his gratitude for the hard work and dedication shown by all those in the team. The Economy & Assets PDG was unlike other Policy Development Groups in that it was not service driven and relied upon different funding streams which were constantly fluctuating and unpredictable. 

The Chair hoped that the final slide given in the team update presentation, listing the emerging themes, could be used as a prompt for a work plan discussion at the next meeting.

Note: * Report previously circulated.