Agenda item

a)    Culm Garden Village Employment and Skills Strategy presentation

b)    Eden grounds presentation

c)    Discussion on MDDC opportunities at Junction 27 and 28

The Group had requested at the previous meeting that they receive information with regard to possible development opportunities at J27 and J28 on the M5 and that a discussion take place thereafter. The Chairman asked that the Group be given a steer from officers as to what it could do to help facilitate progress in this area going forwards.

In order to facilitate discussion the Group received two presentations:

Firstly from the BE Group presenting the ‘Culm Employment and Skills Strategy’:

·         The BE Group had been commissioned to undertake an in depth study which could feed into the Masterplan.

·         A base line analysis had been undertaken which provided information in relation to potential opportunities. This included an assessment of industrial property demand where unfortunately opportunities were limited at the current time.

·         Green construction and greener energy opportunities were an attractive option given the good connectivity within the area. There was a potential to attract high value investment in this area.

·         Liaison with local colleges was taking place in order to provide the necessary skills.

·         There was an increase in demand for more energy efficient buildings.

·         Age related care facilities were also identified as an important opportunity providing employment and support for the local community.

·         Business start-up facilities and on going support was crucial.

·         Since the pandemic the whole dynamic of office working had changed in terms of the need, scale and type of office space required by businesses. One advantage of this was more home working and the need for employees to travel less to the larger cities. 

Consideration was given to:

·         Higher costs involved in greener construction and would these be passed on to businesses?

·         The need for substantial infrastructure improvements which were always extremely expensive. A ‘cocktail’ of funding would be required to support delivery of such interventions.

·         The need, already identified by the PDG, for more incubator / start up space within the district.

·         Development was needed for the benefit of Cullompton as a whole.

·         A strong desire for development not to take place in a piecemeal fashion.

·         ‘Green retro fitting’ would need circa 2500 employees, currently there were circa 40, this presented an exciting opportunity for colleges to offer training opportunities.

·         The study will be extremely helpful in shaping the Garden Village scheme, its relationship with Cullompton and the need for it to be holistic in nature.

·         Small scale units and incubation space was perceived to be vital to its success.

·         The Garden Village had the benefit of a nearby town centre, it would support growth in the district, it would provide an opportunity to develop our own businesses and if employment could be increased it would reduce the amount of commuting outside of the district.

It was AGREED that the Economic Development team should undertake some focused work to consider what MDDC might do to support the development of small scale industrial units, incubation space and other economic development initiatives in Cullompton and the wider Mid Devon district.

The second presentation was provided by the Eden Project, the key highlights of which were as follows:

·         Original proposals had changed due to the pandemic. Land ownership had also changed in some locations.

·         Consideration is being given to identify trends in the way people were living their lives and how they were spending their money.

·         This was significant site with anybody travelling to Cornwall having to pass by it.

·         Local businesses, such as food producers, could be heavily promoted.

·         Respect would be maintained for the landscape.

·         There was a potential to provide a service station ‘for the future’.

·         Electrification and renewable energy would be a significant factor within the development.

·         A workshop was planned to look at the Masterplan and the technical implications of the proposals, a public consultation exercise would take place after that.

·         The Project team were keen to hear from Mid Devon elected Members regarding their views on development ideas and encouraged them to engage with the Project team.

Consideration was given to:

·         The lack of adequate infrastructure, for example, highways and public transport, as expressed following the previous presentation and the costs involved in correcting this.

·         Whether adequate facilities could be provided for significant numbers of lorry drivers.

·         Changes in what was being proposed now compared to previous proposals.

·         The effect upon Tiverton traders and would development affect the number of people visiting Tiverton?

·         A new Local Plan was being developed which could facilitate some of these new ideas albeit existing Local Plan provisions were still in place.

It was AGREED that once progress had been made in the development of proposals, the necessary parties return to update the Group as it was keen to support projects that would bring an economic benefit to the residents of Mid Devon.

Notes:            (i) Cllr R J Dolley declared a personal interest in that he sponsored three sports clubs in Cullompton. He also stated that he knew people who owned land in Sampford Peverell.