Today we in the Forest of Dean offer our GLEP and the Chairman of Leadership Gloucestershire, the most radical proposal to support the Forest of Dean Economy ever presented.
Following a number of remote meetings , this Council has decided not to wait for the effects of the Covid19 pandemic and the economic damage that is undoubtedly on its way and instead be proactive, bold and innovative.
This District has been sat on a number of projects for a number of years. Lydney Harbour, Five Acres and the Cinderford Northern Quarter are projects that have limped along for a variety of reasons, among them a lack of funding, always seemingly missing out at the last hurdle.We get so far then await more funding.
Today we will launch our offensive to get the projects done and at the same time support the economy of the Forest of Dean.
Young people in particular are likely to be hit by the coming economic difficulties .
We are proposing a joint campaign with the Forest Economic Partnership to encourage Forest of Dean companies to take on an apprentice to assist the jobs issue of young people in the Forest of Dean. I have today asked The Cabinet member responsible for business , Cllr Bernie O"Neil, to liaise with Andrew Callard the Chairman of the FEP and write to every company above a certain size and encourage them to become involved in the apprenticeship scheme
We will today request GFirstLep and Leadership Gloucestershire assistance in securing the £70m we need to deliver on key projects, either through grants or borrowing. We have in recent days been convinced of the benefit of every district in Gloucestershire putting forward such a list of projects so that the LEP and Leadership Gloucestershire might request £500m of inward investment from the Government to secure the counties economic future and viability. We are however in the interim considering borrowing opportunities to fund our ambition if we need to.
We ask for assistance from these named organisations, our district council colleagues and our MP Mr Mark Harper as we intend to challenge current procurement laws so that we can deliver these projects using local companies, local workforce and local materials. By doing this the return, the monies created ,will remain in our area, People will be able to have their home, have a job, use local shops and services and the Council will benefit from increased Council Tax and Business rates
We will deliver the tourism a heritage hotspot that we all know the Lydney Harbour area can be.
WE will build a new replacement sports centre on the Five acres site and develop the old college site in line with community aspirations.Crating something that will further attract visitors as well as the local communities
We will finish that small length of road on the CNQ , we will open the plots up for sustainable and agreed housing, viable ,passive and social. We will work with opponents to the CNQ to deliver there what we can , that sits well with the environment, that include environment and wildlife protection and celebration, communal Gardens, environmentally aware business opportunities. Any development of the CNQ will be with the environment in mind first and foremost, it will be a benefit to diversity.The CNQ will be a national standard for development of a sensitive area.
We could be austere, we could just cut costs, cut services and watch as businesses close and work dries up. There are some that will say that's what we should do, just ensure that the Council's finances remain stable and at whatever cost to the community or services.
We say that staying still , just surviving will not help the Forest of Dean. We need to be bold and innovative . It is now time to step up and to deliver. The Pandemic and Brexit has left us with many issues but also enormous opportunity.
Taking these steps will assist the Forest of Dean economy , provide local homes and jobs and that in turn will see people use local shops , pay council tax etc. They will also assist Gloucestershire if the approach is taken Countywide
This is what we must do, This is what we will do
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