Agenda item

(a)       That the progress report be noted;

(b)       That the Chairman liaise with the Leader of the Council on a localised approach; and

(c)        That the progress report on Deeside Enterprise Zone be received by the Committee on a six-monthly basis.

Prior to the item, the Chairman stated that he understood the Leader of the Council would be assuming responsibility for regeneration which had previously been under the remit of the late Councillor Peter Macfarlane.

The Head of Regeneration introduced a report to inform Members of progress on the Deeside Enterprise Zone (DEZ) which had been officially launched as Wales’ designated area for Manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing.  He detailed the background and consideration of the report including key points within the response from the Welsh Government (WG) to the business plan.  It was noted that progress in Year 1 had resulted in the creation of 431 new jobs and 1,300 existing jobs safeguarded, despite physical work on DEZ not yet having started.

The Leader of the Council stressed that the DEZ was a WG led initiative and was one of seven across Wales.  He said that the achievement in economic development in Flintshire was recognised and despite previous concern around submission of the business case, subsequent meetings had been held with the Minister and the business case approved.  He referred to concerns about competition with two Enterprise Zones in England within a 20 mile radius of Deeside in terms of attracting investment and growing businesses.  In providing an update on the North Wales Economic Ambition Board (NWEAB), he highlighted work in enabling access across the region, a key strand of which would be the electrification of the North Wales Coast lines.  He remarked that there appeared to be a clear drive for North Wales Authorities to focus on tourism and energy and called on support from Overview & Scrutiny to ensure that views were heard on manufacturing.  He welcomed the skills agenda in North Wales which would benefit the region and hoped that links would be developed with China following the visit by the Chinese delegation, to benefit the whole of Flintshire.

Councillor W.P. Shotton welcomed the approval given to commence the Flood Alleviation Scheme and the exciting concept of the North Wales Advanced Manufacturing Skills and Technology Centre to sustain the manufacturing base and safeguard skills.  Whilst being mindful of the WG led initiative on the DEZ, he said that more would be expected.

Councillor D. Butler said that the WG should note that Flintshire worked under a certain demographic and spoke of the need for close working between the six Local Authorities and the NWEAB.  The interest expressed by the Chinese delegation had been generated through work internally and would benefit people in Flintshire and across North Wales.

Councillor A.I. Dunbar spoke in support of progress made which was starting to come to fruition and of the need to work together to achieve fundamental changes.

The Director thanked the Leader for his comments and spoke of positive progress in approval of the business case, increasing confidence in investment opportunities and benefits for the whole of North Wales.  He referred to the six Local Authorities working together and the need to prioritise manufacturing jobs.

The Chairman said that it should be the responsibility of the Council to engage at a local level and suggested that he discuss the best way to take this forward with the Leader of the Council.  As this was a quarterly update report, he suggested that a six monthly update be received in future.

The Leader of the Council welcomed this discussion with the Chairman and said that the NWEAB was supportive of manufacturing and that the importance of advanced manufacturing to the whole of North Wales could be reinforced, especially in light of the Ministerial guidance.

In response to a question from Councillor N.M. Matthews on whether the Council or WG dealt with companies investing in the DEZ, the Head of Regeneration explained that this was dependent on the project and proposals involved, but there was generally a shared approach with WG colleagues.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the progress report be noted;

(b)       That the Chairman liaise with the Leader of the Council on a localised approach; and

(c)        That the progress report on Deeside Enterprise Zone be received by the Committee on a six-monthly basis.