“Bold and ambitious” new vision unveiled for County Durham’s £8.8bn economy

A “bold and ambitious” new strategy that will shape County Durham’s economy over the next decade and beyond has been officially adopted by the county council.

The County Durham Inclusive Economic Strategy sets a “clear, long-term” vision for the area’s economy up to 2035, with an overarching aim to create more and better jobs in an inclusive, green economy.

This week, members of Durham County Council’s Cabinet agreed to formally adopt the document, which has been developed through County Durham Economic Partnership (CDEP).

Glyn Llewellyn, chair of the CDEP, commented: “The Economic Strategy will help deliver a prosperous future for the people of County Durham and a future for generations to come where anything is possible.

“Now we have the strategy in place, we need everyone to work together to deliver it – from SMEs to large companies with investments in the area, everyone needs to play their part in ensuring it achieves its aims.”

The vision, priorities and areas of focus within the strategy have been shaped by an Economic Statement which establishes the state of the county’s economy today and the opportunities and challenges for the future.

The statement shows that County Durham has a “strong and diverse” economy worth £8.8bn, with 14,000 businesses and significant strengths in advanced manufacturing and health and life sciences. However, it also highlights that between 2006 and 2020, the economy grew by only 26.8 per cent compared to a national figure of 49.8 per cent.

The Inclusive Economic Strategy seeks to overcome barriers in order to transform levels of growth and harness the county’s potential, with all partners actively working towards this shared vision. The vision within the strategy is built on five key areas:

• People: supporting people into education, training and jobs and enabling them to excel in their careers and in business.
• Productivity: supporting business innovation, growth and higher levels of productivity.
• Places: improving places and planning infrastructure so that people and businesses can access opportunities.
• Promotion: promoting the county, its assets and opportunities to businesses, investors, visitors, developers and residents.
• Planet: investing in people, technologies, research, development and businesses in order to help achieve net zero emissions in County Durham by 2045.

A detailed Delivery Plan will now be developed by the CDEP, which includes partners from the private, charity and community sector, giving stakeholders another chance to help shape and deliver the strategy.

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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