Issue - meetings

Report of the Head of Communities and Governance regarding a potential bid to the Growth Fund

The Committee had before it and NOTED a report * of the Head of Communities and Governance informing them of activities being undertaken to develop a Growth Hub service for the Heart of the South West.

The Economic Development Officer explained that a Growth Hub was a regionally based service that provided business diagnostics, and signposting to relevant business support services. There were 25 operational hubs across the UK, and all LEPs (Local Enterprise Partnerships) had a legal duty to provide a Growth Hub service by March 2016. What a Growth Hub service looked like was highly flexible, but it must achieve 2 main objectives:

·         It must have a governance structure which is part of the LEP

·         It must be able to signpost to all relevant services, on a local, regional and national level

The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSWLEP) were due to commission a Growth Hub service, with the tender going live by the autumn of 2015. The service was likely to have £2.1m allocated to it over a 3 year period. However, there were concerns shared by Economic Development teams across the region, that if a new Growth Hub model was developed without the local authority’s direct involvement or consultation, it would not meet local business needs. It was important that any procured service added value to existing business support services, without replicating or competing with local provision.

The Officer explained that he had been working with the Better Business for All (BBfA) group and Economic Development staff from across the region to explore the opportunity to bid for the Growth Hub service as a collaborative project. BBfA involved integration of regulatory services as part of the business support offer, and making those services more business friendly, so that they were seen as an enabler of business growth.

There were many benefits to Mid Devon District Council, and the Mid Devon businesses that were supported, by taking the lead on developing this project.

·        Significantly better business support services would be delivered for the local business community. Services would be tailored to meet local needs.

·        The authority would be playing a much more significant role in the development of business support for the South West. The group that was set up during this project would set a precedent that would see Mid Devon leading on future business support initiatives.

·        Mid Devon would have greater influence over regional strategic priorities, ensuring that money coming into the region was better allocated to meet the needs of our businesses and that regional support was led by local intelligence. This would make it far more likely that we would get a more significant share of funds.

·        Mid Devon would receive national recognition if the bid was successful, and our Growth Hub could be used as an example of best practice.

Discussion took place regarding rural broadband.  The Leader informed the Committee that a representative from BT would be providing a Member Briefing in September to answer queries regarding the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40