Agenda item - Greater Brighton Business Survey

Report of the Chair, Greater Brighton Officer Programme Board

1)            That the Board notes the contents of the report

2)            That the Board agrees to proceed to stage 2 of the project which is the main business survey

3)            That the Board promotes business engagement in the survey.

29.1      The Board considered a report that provided an update on the progress on the Greater Brighton business survey and outlined the proposed next steps for agreement. The report was supplemented by a presentation to the Board.

29.2      Councillor Theobald asked how many businesses had been interviewed.

29.3      Tony Wilson answered that at this stage, twenty interviews had been undertaken with stakeholders and membership bodies such as the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce. There would be 1000 interviews undertaken as part of the second stage.

29.4      Prof Tickell stated that he had found the report interesting and noted that the universities generated £400m worth of trade per annum and were a key aspect of trade and inward investment.

29.5      Matt Williams clarified that the survey did cover universities as businesses in their own right however, the current focus of the report was with stakeholders with the final report addressing the business base within the region and the range of economic activities.

29.6      Alex Bailey stated that the region did not currently have data on inward investment and asked methods as to how to attract that.

29.7      Tony Wilson replied that the final report would propose what was required for a trade mission and the recommended next steps. He added that the survey was, to a point, an opportunity for challenge and to link that to the inward investment strategy.

29.8      Alex Bailey stated that the region had a vibrant creative industry and he hoped that element would be considered fully.

29.9      Tony Wilson stated that space constraint was one of the challenges of the region and was an opportunity to focus on sectors that did not necessarily require space such as the creative industry.

29.10   Councillor Giles stated that available housing was a severe constraint on the region and he believed it would be difficult to create significant economic growth unless that was resolved.

29.11   Tony Wilson stated that housing was a very important issue for the region and one that would be addressed in the final survey.

29.12   The Chair stated that the improvement of transport links was a key aspect in overcoming regional housing pressures.

29.13   RESOLVED-

1)            That the Board notes the contents of the report

2)            That the Board agrees to proceed to stage 2 of the project which is the main business survey

3)            That the Board promotes business engagement in the survey.