• Comprehensive – does the action complement the agreed principles of change and clearly meet the vision and objectives?
• Achievable – is the action deliverable, given available resources and the benefits proposed?
• Inclusive – is the action accessible to all in the community taking account of equality and diversity?
• Environmentally Sustainable – does the action avoid undue negative impact on the environment?

At the heart of the Economic Masterplan are 5 themes, which together will
ensure we remain focused on people, business and place:

Theme  1: Skills & Aspirations

Theme 2: Employment

Theme 3: Enterprise

Theme 4: Investment

Theme 5: Property

Enterprise and an entrepreneurial culture are central to the development of a successful local economy that relies on the creation of wealth by its local businesses. This theme encompasses the support of new and existing businesses with the emphasis on the creation of new businesses and productivity improvements in existing businesses. This will lead to the creation of quality jobs that in turn will require highly skilled people. There are therefore obvious links to the ‘Skills & Aspirations’ and ‘Employment’ themes if we are to ensure that local people benefit from the creation of these successful businesses. The ‘Property’ aspect is also important to ensure that we not only have the necessary mix of commercial premises to support start-up businesses as well as ‘grow on’ space but also the appropriate broadband infrastructure to support developing businesses and attract inward investors.

Current status

Over the last few years we have seen improvements in enterprise development and entrepreneurial culture as well as a more diversified economy. However, business start-ups remain below the national average and the area underperforms as regards productivity. There is therefore a continuing need to support start-up and established businesses to improve this performance. Programmes of support such as LEO over the last few years have shown the benefit of more intensive ‘face to face’ support. However, the business support landscape is changing given the current economic climate with a move towards more web based support and involvement of the private sector. There is therefore a challenge to try and retain some of the more successful intensive support schemes that appear to provide a benefit through such funding as ERDF and sustainability of the successful parts of the LEO programme.

Ambition

Improvements in business start-up rates and productivity of local businesses leading to a more diversified and competitive business sector.

Measures of success

Improvements in business start-up and survival rates, productivity, job creation and average wage rates.

Targets are listed against individual items in the action plan.

Property is a function of business productivity and the Property section of the Joint Economic Masterplan is designed in this context to create conditions which:

• Ensure a higher proportion of the local community are in work
• Ensure those in work earn ever increased wages
• Ensure we capture a larger proportion of local/sub-regional spend

This is achieved through an understanding of ‘competitive advantage’ and the advantages accrued from external economies of scale (location advantages) which support the growth of an area. This recognises a strategy beyond competing on price to one which develops an offer to business which adds to their competitive advantage. Property is a part of this wider offer the strategy must make.

Current status

Recent studies by Experian and Innes England have suggested the area will see a continued contraction of general industrial activity across the conurbation with a steady increase in B1 demand centred on Mansfield and the location advantages of the town centre; with further high growth of distribution operations across Ashfield, maximising access to the motorway junctions vital to these sectors. This continued rebalancing of the local economy has left an oversupply of committed employment land, much of which is of questionable quality, and a mismatch of supply and demand in the built stock of commercial premises.

In addition, weak macroeconomic conditions have led to limited private sector activity and reduced employment all within a context of harsh public sector cuts. This environment will require the area to respond to current conditions whilst planning its brighter future through exploiting its competitive advantage, which must focus on the 5 growth sectors and will require innovative ways of delivering local priorities.

Ambition

• Correct the oversupply of employment land, challenge suitability of committed sites and address the legacy of redundant sites in urban centres and former industrial areas
• Redress market failure through facilitating the delivery of available sites that the market requires in the right locations, free of developer tie
• Ensure a local supply of commercial premises is available to both attract mobile investment projects and to support high growth local firms in key priority sectors
• Provide a balanced property portfolio of premises to address local oversupply of units < 5,000 sq. ft. and an undersupply of property 5 – 50,000 sq. ft.
• Attract investment to deliver Town Centre priorities across the main urban areas

Measures of success

• Increased availability of serviced employment land – 10 Ha.
• Reuse / reallocation of Brownfield land – 4 Ha.
• Increased private sector investment – £6,000,000
• New available commercial floor space – 6,000 sq. m.
• Delivery of intervention sites (see action plan)

The business base within Ashfield and Mansfield generally consists of lower value activity and is highlighted through a heavy reliance on lower wage manufacturing, wholesale/retail and increasing growth of public sector employment. Employment in knowledge based industries is lower in Ashfield and Mansfield when compared to the national average. Low numbers of the resident population are employed in higher level managerial or professional jobs. The area suffers from a low skills, low wage equilibrium and imports higher skilled workers from outlying areas to fill the higher value jobs.

The creation and accessibility of higher value jobs by local people would increase the levels of disposable income and levels of spend in the local economy. In turn a more sustainable environment for small businesses to start, grow and prosper would follow.

Current Status

Ashfield and Mansfield residents have a low level of high skill levels (17.6% qualified to Level 4 or higher and 34% obtaining at least a level 3 qualification).

Within Ashfield workplace earnings are higher than the national average, having experienced marked increases between 2002 and 2009, indicating the presence of higher value economic activity within the District. In Mansfield residents’ wages are lower than the sub-regional, regional and national levels and, in the case of Ashfield, are lower than the workplace earnings, suggesting that residents are not benefiting from the propensity of knowledge intensive activity within the District.

19% of the working age population in Mansfield and 16% in Ashfield have degree level qualifications compared to the national average of 29%. Both districts have a higher than average proportion of residents with no qualifications and poor levels of literacy and numeracy.

Since 2007 unemployment rates across both districts have escalated in line with regional and national trends. Some of the more deprived wards across the districts are suffering from very high levels of unemployment.

Ambition

• Raise aspirations
• Raise confidence levels
• Raise skills levels
• Increase the number of people with higher level skills working in the district
• Improve access for all residents to high quality employment opportunities
• Improve enterprise skills
• Increase earning potential

Measures of success

• Higher skills levels
• Higher employment rates
• Higher earnings

Targets are listed against individual items in the action plan.

This masterplan provides the opportunity for everyone locally with an interest in the economic future of Ashfield and Mansfield to have their say. This will be a dynamic, living document, responsive to changing circumstances and priorities. Once published, it will be under continual review by the Sherwood Growth Zone Partnership.

High

Role

• Signposting individuals to appropriate national/local business support programmes e.g. Jobcentre Plus Enterprise element of DWP ‘Work Programme’, LEO Enterprise Coaches, Prince’s Trust & Nottingham Trent University-The Hive Proof of Concept programme
• Support the development and promote local Enterprise Clubs such as those run by the LEO programme and the ‘Ambition for Ashfield & Mansfield’ Entrepreneurs’ Forum
• Targeted awareness raising of the benefits of self-employment e.g. ‘Women in Enterprise-Women Who Do’ programme

Benefit

Increasing levels of business start-up.

High/Medium

Role:

Direct intervention through delivery of District Council led initiatives.

Benefit:

An improved entrepreneurial culture with the skills and confidence to take enterprising ideas forward.

ERDF targets over 3 years:

• 15 businesses assisted to improve performance
• 15 people assisted to start a business

High

Role:

Direct intervention through delivery of District Council led initiatives.

Benefits:

Increased number of women assisted to consider starting a business and improving the local economy.

More skilled, confident women looking to improve their quality of life.

ERDF targets over 3 years:

• 30 businesses assisted to improve performance
• 30 people assisted to start a business

Low

Role:

• Identification of the USP of areas i.e. Mansfield Town centre for Multiple Retail, Castlewood for Logistics, White Hart Development for niche retail; or buildings, i.e. NBIUs for business start-ups. i.e. NBIU’s for business start ups, i-centre for innovative companies
• Area based marketing strategies to support emerging areas or to manage decline

Benefits:

The need to manage decline and to support emerging sectors, activities or locations.

Low

Role:

Public realm strategy for:

• Mansfield
• Mansfield Woodhouse
• Sutton-in-Ashfield
• Kirkby-in-Ashfield
• Hucknall
• Warsop

Benefits:

A need to create an environment which is supportive of business investment – understanding the linkages within and between schemes and areas: ‘external economies of scale’.