Agenda item

The Scrutiny Board received a report of the Director of Economy which updated Members on the emerging Economic Plan for Oldham. The Oldham Economic Plan built on the original Oldham Economic that was published in March 2022. The Plan aimed to set out the strategic context for economic growth within the borough covering the period up to 2030.

The Oldham Economic Review, (OER), was originally published in March 2022 and was undertaken by an independent panel of experts with a focus on examining the opportunities for sustained and positive economic growth within Oldham. Building on the OER work, the Oldham Economic Board was established in July 2023 sitting within the context of the wider Oldham Economic Partnership. The Economic Board consists of a range of stakeholders from business, education, and wider public sector partners. The board provides a vehicle to drive forward OER recommendations and seeks to ensure that sustained and good growth is achieved across Oldham.

The emerging Oldham Economic Plan will be owned by the Economic Board and aims to set out the strategic growth context for the Town covering the period up to 20300.

The draft Economic Plan had been prepared (and was attached to the submitted report at Appendix A) by council officers, with the wider support of the Oldham Economic Board.  Members were advised that the emerging Plan consisted of a number of key areas including:

a.    The history of the Towns Economy

b.    An overview of the levelling opportunities and need within Oldham 

c.    Seeks to recognise the strength in our diverse communities.

d.    A recognition of Oldham as a green borough both in terms of natural capital but also the emerging economic strengths arising from the bold and ambitious Oldham Green New Deal strategy.

e.    Alignment to wider regional growth strategy within Greater Manchester which is critical in terms of unlocking both future regional resource through devolution and national resource through wider government initiatives.

f.     Connectivity and mobility.

It was envisaged that future growth activity would be aligned to the above key areas which will be underpinned by clear outcome measures helping to evidence direction of travel during in the life of the plan.

The plan also sought to recognise the current and future strategic growth opportunities that exists within the borough with an appreciation that wider projects and initiatives will be identified and developed throughout the life of the plan. The priority areas of opportunities identified included: Atom Valley, town centre developments and district growth plans.

It was considered critical that evidence of the delivery of the plan be provided to demonstrate progress. Therefore, the Economic Plan set out a number of potential outcome measures. Over the coming months, work will focus of the development of a robust measurable performance and monitoring framework which will include a baseline position and 2030 targets. 

It was envisaged that the Economic Board will receive quarterly performance progress reports across all metrics helping to provide full visibility on progress to date. Where applicable, it is also envisaged that key success measures will be embedded into the wider corporate performance report and it was further envisaged that the Place, Economic Growth and Environment Scrutiny Board will receive an annual report providing an opportunity for a further deeper assessment on delivery progress.

Resolved:

1.    That the Place, Economic Growth and Environment Scrutiny Board supports and endorses the Oldham Economic Plan, as outlined in the Director of Economy’s report.

2.    That the Place, Economic Growth and Environment Scrutiny Board shall receive an annual report providing an opportunity for a further deeper assessment on delivery progress and the submission of interim reports if the need arises.