ClacksWeb - Clackmannanshire Council Online

Sections

• Business
• Children & Families
• Community & Living
• Council & Democracy
• Culture & Leisure
• Education & Learning
• Environment
• Housing
• Law & Regulation
• Planning & Building Standards
• Social Care & Health
• Transport & Roads
• Visiting & Tourism

Council Services

• Chief Executive's
• Corporate Development
• Development & Environmental
• Services to People

Business

• Business support
• CSBP Business space
• Kilncraigs Office Space
• Business advice
• Business directory
• Business Improvement District (BID)
• Business news
• Business Sites
• Clackmannanshire in Europe
• Major Investment 2005-2006
• Clackmannanshire's Economy
• Licensing
• Tenders
• Trading Standards

Building Clackmannanshire Economic Development Framework

Contents

• Introduction
• Economic Focus
• Economic Overview
• SWOT Analysis
• Vision and Aims
• Priorities
• The Key Action Areas
  • Building Enterprise
  • Building Skills
  • Building Connections
  • Building Confidence
• Partnership Development
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Appendix One: Project Action Plan
• Appendix Two: Detailed Economic Analysis

Introduction

Rolling hills, fast-flowing rivers, busy towns and bonnie villages. Put these together with towers and castles and you have one of Scotland's best-kept secrets - Clackmannanshire. Clackmannanshire is Scotland in miniature - magnificent scenery, a rich history and proud, enterprising people. Set in the very heart of Scotland, with the stunning Ochil Hills as its backdrop, Clackmannanshire has a lot to offer businesses, visitors and residents alike.

Clackmannanshire has undergone substantial economic change in recent years and has been the focus of major investment. The Framework for Action - Building Clackmannanshire has been designed to provide a focus for economic development in the area and a collectively-agreed route map to help Clackmannanshire realise its economic ambitions.

Economic Focus

Building Clackmannanshire is the culmination of a structured engagement process. The document is based on a series of workshops with the key public and private sector stakeholders who comprise Clackmannanshire's Economic Development Theme Team (EDTT). Each member of the EDTT contributed to the development of the economic development framework and input their organisation's or sector's perspective.

This document presents a long-term vision and serves as a guide for co-ordinating existing projects and for identifying and developing additional projects in the coming years. The partners will use the Framework to develop and drive forward the Clackmannanshire economy, focusing on:

• Developing a dynamic economy - the document focuses principally on stimulating the economic development of Clackmannanshire and identifying the priority activities for future public sector intervention and investment.
• Building effective partnership working - a key aim of this document is to articulate the responsibilities of the public sector organisations involved in the economic development process in the area and generate a real partnership approach.
• Understanding progress - the document will determine the selection of measures to assess progress against objectives.

Scope

The Framework has been designed to provide a broad framework through which Clackmannanshire's public sector can optimise the area's economic vitality. The goals and approach in this document were developed with one inclusive end result in mind: to support, retain, expand and attract the economic activity that makes Clackmannanshire a better place in which to live and work.

The Framework and vision take a ten-year horizon but the proposed actions it contains relate to the next three years. In a fast-moving world, there is limited value in being too specific in prescribing how we intend to intervene in the Clackmannanshire economy in the longer term. Specific projects and programmes that are informed by the Framework will be captured in an annual operating plan.

The Framework will be a vital reference point for informing and directing the economic aspects of the Community Planning process. The Framework will be the strategic stimulus for economic development across the entire Clackmannanshire area; it will contribute to and draw from the work of the other themes - for instance, the Community Planning Regeneration Outcome Agreement will articulate how targeted geographic areas of deprivation will benefit from and harness this wider economic development process.

We begin the Framework with an overview of the Clackmannanshire economy and a discussion of the Framework's vision - the philosophy that guides our strategic process and describes the role of the public sector in delivering this plan.

The Framework covers four key areas that are essential for economic prosperity in Clackmannanshire. These will effect change for the better by focusing collective energies and resources on the fundamentals of economic well-being for the people of Clackmannanshire. These are:

• Building Enterprise
• Building Skills
• Building Connections
• Building Confidence

Economic Overview

Introduction

There has been an economic transformation in Clackmannanshire in recent years following the decline of the mining, brewing and textiles industries. The area has responded to these challenges and created new jobs and businesses.

Overall, employment in Clackmannanshire has increased 16% since 1995 - despite the decline in the traditional manufacturing sector to around a quarter of its previous size between 1995 and 2002. Nevertheless, the level of economic activity at 77% is slightly below the Scottish level of 79% and further below the Forth Valley figure of 81%. In short, there is still more to be done in revitalising the local economy and linking residents to job and business opportunities in the local and regional economy.

In 1991, Clackmannanshire's population stood at approximately 48,400 and it reached a peak of 48,900 in 1994 before falling to its present level of 47,680. Current forecasts of mid-year population suggest that the downward trend will continue and a fall of more than 2,500 will take place over the period 2003-2018. However, projections by the Scottish Government suggest that the number of households in the area will rise by slightly more than 7% between 2004 and 2014 with a rise of more than 25% in the number of single person households. Over the same period, there will also be a slight increase in the average age of the population.

Key Issues

Taken within that general context, the Clackmannanshire economy can be shown to be one of contradictions and extremes concentrated within a 61 square mile area of central Scotland:

• well-located but poorly-connected. Despite its location, Clackmannanshire lacks good transportation links to the rest of Scotland. However, a new rail link will be opened in 2006 and direct access to the motorway network should be possible before the end of the current decade.
• pockets of wealth and poverty. Clackmannanshire performs above the Scottish average in terms of a range of social indicators (including carownership) but ranks within the worst 25% of all Scottish Councils in terms of income and employment deprivation. Conversely, it includes communities of outstanding prosperity.
• economic restructuring and employment growth. Despite major closures in the traditional industries (predominantly in textiles) since 1995, the Economic Overview number of jobs in Clackmannanshire increased by 16% between 1995 and 2002 - similar to the rates of growth in Falkirk (18%) and Stirling (15%).
• labour market problems. Economic activity (at 77%) is slightly below the Scottish level of 79% and further below the Forth Valley figure of 81%. Claimant unemployment rates are above those of Scotland and Forth Valley but long-term unemployment is now tending to lie below the Scottish level.
• low educational attainment. Educational attainment is lower than average. There is a high proportion of residents with no qualifications and a lower proportion who have attained Level 4 or above (i.e. HND or above). Some 13% of adults have degrees, the same as the Forth Valley average.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis summarised below reflects the EDTT review of the previous Clackmannanshire Action Plan. The SWOT provides a context for project and programme development; along with the detailed economic analysis, it informs and influences the attached Project Action Plan:

Strengths

• Quality of environment
• Local college
• Built heritage
• Affordable housing market
• Availability of local workforce
• Unit price of industrial space
• Strong community capacity and representation
• High rate of business start-ups
• More diversified economy

Weaknesses

• Perceived physical isolation
• Perceived lack of flexible business space
• Low educational achievement
• Ageing population
• Poor transport infrastructure
• Higher-than-average unemployment
• Severe pockets of exclusion
• Poor external image

Opportunities

• New Forth crossing
• New rail link to Stirling/Kincardine
• Locational advantages
• Development of tourism product
• Increasing environmental awareness
• Availability of industrial land for development
• Improved education base
• Increase business survival & quality
• Grow enterprise in key sectors
• Social economy

Threats

• Worsening relative business competitiveness
• Competition from adjacent local authorities
• Leakage of skilled individuals
• Industrial change not matched to skills
• Unclear tourism product and proposition
• Pockets of low demand and deprivation
• Becoming a dormitory community for Central Scotland

The Clackmannanshire EDTT will work to minimise and tackle the weaknesses and threats. Weaknesses will be examined in order to convert them into strengths, the perceived threats in order to convert them into opportunities; strengths and opportunities will be matched to develop and drive forward the Clackmannanshire Economy.

Vision and Aims

The Vision

We have collectively developed a ten-year vision for economic development in Clackmannanshire. The vision reflects the ambition to build a dynamic local economy that makes Clackmannanshire a successful place, driven by a confident community.

A Vision for Economic Development:

• A vibrant economy with a constant flow of opportunities for residents, investors, and visitors. A place where people can realise their ambitions and aspirations.
• An exciting, distinctive place. A place that draws and encourages people to work, live and relax.
• A confident community. A place where people are confident and ambitious as citizens of a fastchanging world.

The Aims

The Framework has three central aims:

• to increase the number of jobs in Clackmannanshire and to widen the range and enhance the quality of those jobs;
• to equip Clackmannanshire people to create and compete for jobs - locally and further afield;
• to create an environment and culture within which enterprise can flourish.

Principles

The Framework will be implemented in a way that:

• is challenging - the Framework will aim to change attitudes and lift ambitions, making demands of the partners as well as its beneficiaries.
• that emphasises quality - in the full range of economic development services - whether relating to place, people or business.
• is inclusive - the Framework is for all of Clackmannanshire but recognises that some communities need greater assistance in connecting to economic opportunity.
• is collaborative - with people working together to deliver the Framework for our customers: residents; businesses; investors; and visitors.
• is sustainable and balances economic, environmental and social concerns.

Priorities

Focus for Action. The actions for progressing development in Clackmannanshire fall within four themes. Each reflects an aspect of driving forward the Clackmannanshire economy. They have been identified in line with the economic analysis and SWOT analysis and represent the aspirations within the vision and aims of the Framework.

• Building Enterprise: increasing the number of new businesses and helping the rapid expansion of more medium sized companies that have ambitions to grow are vital for generating sustainable economic growth in Clackmannanshire. We will continue to work with these companies, in both the for profit and social economy sectors, to make them more competitive via business development support in areas such as innovation, workforce development, entering international markets and accessing funding.
• Building Skills: dynamic enterprises gain their edge from the skills, abilities and creativity of their people. We need the right skills for gaining work and the right quality of skills in work. We need to equip people with the right mix of personal, core and technical skills for securing employment locally and more widely.
• Building Connections: three significant new pieces of infrastructure that will link Clackmannanshire more closely to the wider national and international economy need to be fully exploited for their economic benefits - the new rail link, the new Forth Bridge and broadband. Initiatives that unlock their full potential need to be identified, developed and delivered.
• Building Confidence: Clackmannanshire has suffered in recent years as a result of the decline in core industries, such as textiles and brewing - although alternative jobs have been coming on stream. Vital to the success of this Framework will be a renewed sense of belief amongst the people of Clackmannanshire that the area can compete and prosper. Communities will be kept aware of key developments and related successes and the opportunities for benefiting from these developments. There is a need to alert the wider Scottish population to the positive changes in Clackmannanshire and enable them to engage as investors, residents or visitors.

The Key Action Areas

This section identifies the objectives under each of the Framework's four Key Action Areas (KAA).

KAA 1: Building Enterprise

Our objectives under this priority include:

• increase the quality and survival rates of local start-ups;
• increase the amount of business investment into the area;
• enhance economic competitiveness by growing enterprises in key sectors that are complementary to attracting new investment;
• stimulate innovation and knowledge in traditional sectors and new sectors;
• develop a distinctive Clackmannanshire tourism product that encourages visitors to stay longer and spend more in the area;
• unlock the potential of increased housing in the area both in terms of the development of local services and economic opportunities;
• maintain the local company and employment base by supporting and providing property and industrial infrastructure.

KAA 2: Building Skills

Our objectives under this priority include:

• match local people to jobs;
• develop and update the skills of Clackmannanshire residents;
• enhance the productivity of the existing Clackmannanshire workforce;
• enhance the management skills of Clackmannanshire businesses;
• improve attainment levels for school leavers, by raising aspirations and encouraging enterprise, and working in a integrated manner in the delivery of Determined to Succeed;
• build links between economic exclusion and economic opportunity;
• ensure appropriate training infrastructure and capacity to deliver the above.

KAA 3: Building Connections

The following large projects are key to the development of the economy. They are major investments and regional opportunities; if harnessed effectively, they will act as catalysts for change. Our objectives include:

• unlock the potential of re-opening the Stirling - Alloa - Kincardine Railway;
• unlock the potential of the construction of the Clackmannanshire Bridge;
• ensure that advantages of broadband access and virtual connections are unlocked by business and residents.

KAA 4: Building Confidence

Our objectives under this priority include:

• increase the national profile and perception of Clackmannanshire - people will know where it is and what it can offer;
• market to residents and businesses in order to promote Clackmannanshire as a location that can satisfy their economic aspirations;
• identify niche, quality and unique markets & products to promote to visitors, businesses and residents;
• promote and communicate economic successes and opportunities to Clackmannanshire's people.

Partnership Development

The partners will work together towards shared objectives. The membership of the EDTT will be developed to include key partners as appropriate. We will give special attention to the need for relevant and effective partnerships around our KAAs and projects. We will strengthen the connections with the business community and ensure that our activities link to the ongoing development of the Community Planning process.

Our objectives in terms of partnership are to establish and maintain:

• clear purpose & roles: we will ensure that all the organisations who need to be partners are represented and can make a contribution.
• strong communications networks: effective partnership working will develop trust among the participants and the partner organisations. The process of building that trust will involve an open exchange of information, views and experience. We will ensure that communication from the partnership to the wider community is consistent and that the partnership gets the information it needs to carry out its work effectively.
• community & customer focus: the partnership will know who its key customers are and focus on their needs. Partnership design and management will constantly think about the needs and wants of the customer - design and delivery of services will be focused on customers as a result of partnership.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The EDTT recognises the importance of ongoing monitoring and evaluation in relation to all programme and project level activities.

The EDTT aims to monitor and evaluate the action plan and the resulting programmes and projects in the annual operating plan. The EDTT has identified a set of principles which will shape the monitoring and evaluation of its associated activities and projects. Although we expect further guidance from Communities Scotland and specific input from the Clackmannanshire Community Planning monitoring and evaluation framework, our monitoring and evaluation arrangements will reflect key principles. These are set out below.

The EDTT partnership will:

• link into and inform the wider monitoring and evaluation framework for the Community Planning Partnership guided by the Clackmannanshire Alliance;
• develop appropriate measures and indicators which are clear, realistic and time-bound and which will generate useful information for all involved in the monitoring process and the citizens of Clackmannanshire;
• ensure that baseline information is gathered or made available from which future performance and progress can then be measured;
• ensure a focus and commitment to monitoring and evaluation within EDTT activities and ensure that the purposes and benefits of monitoring and evaluation are widely understood;
• carry out regular, ongoing monitoring and evaluation of key projects and activities, relating outcomes to the strategic aims of EDTT, the Community Planning Partnership and how activities impact on the targeted area or groups;
• set, agree and review a tight set of core measures which are transparent and understandable and reflect the aims of the EDTT
  • to increase the number of jobs in Clackmannanshire and to widen the range and enhance the quality of those jobs;
  • to equip Clackmannanshire people to create and compete for jobs - locally and further afield;
  • to create an environment and culture within which enterprise can flourish.

Appendix 1: Project Action Plan

The actions for progressing development in Clackmannanshire fall within four themes and reflect aspects of driving forward the Clackmannanshire economy. They represent the aspirations within the vision and aims of the Framework.

This Appendix provides an illustration of the activities to be taken in addressing the Key Action Areas (KAA) identified in the Framework for Action and will help inform the appraisal of projects and the allocation of partner funding throughout the period of the plan.

KAA 1: Building Enterprise

Development Rationale

1. Maintain and enhance the current levels of access to self employment support and encourage all appropriate forms of business development.
2. Invest more in terms of front line advisor support to ensure more local business growth projects are identified and supported.
3. Continue investment in strategic sites and encourage wider regeneration projects to bring disused and underused sites back into full economic use.
4. Strengthen the local economy by developing existing sectors and diversifying into new sectors.

KAA 2: Building Skills

Development Rationale

1. Improve performance in local educational attainment to ensure the creation of a strong labour pool for local employers.
2. Provide an environment in which schools and enterprises work closely together to raise awareness and understanding of enterprise.
3. Effectively align existing and planned vocational training development and delivery with local labour market requirements by working closely with local employers to identify needs.
4. Support the development of individuals and community groups involved in Community and Social Enterprise to become more skilled and effective.
5. Continue to support new initiatives which encourage links between employment opportunities and excluded residents.
6. Provide an appropriate training infrastructure to support these actions.

KAA3: Building Connections

Development Rationale

1. Ensure Clackmannanshire maximises public/private investment opportunities to provide first class communications networks.
2. Develop and regenerate strategic sites to bring into economic use.
3. Maintain Clackmannanshire's leading edge in ICT through its extensive broadband coverage.

KAA 4: Building Confidence

Development Rationale

1. Develop a sense of pride through the promotion of local successes.
2. Develop channels of communication between all communities of interest in Clackmannanshire.

Appendix 2: Socio-economic Statistics

This appendix is currently only available as a separate document (see below).

Updated: May 21 2008 9:47 | Top © Copyright 2000-2008 Clackmannanshire Council. All rights reserved.