Agenda item

L Crisp introduced the report and ran through the highlights of the report to members.
In 2015, the Hemel Hempstead Ambassadors scheme was launched to promote businesses within Dacorum. There are currently 45 member businesses generating an annual income of £36,500.
In March 2016, a business survey was done to understand more of what businesses want. From this survey, it was found that 77% thought Dacorum had met or exceed their expectations and 32% predicted they would grow over the next year. The survey helped to formulate new workshops for business to cover IT skills, soft skills and business skills. The courses are always fully booked and have generated an income of £37,000.
This year, the Dacorum’s Den initiative has been fully paid and sponsored by local businesses putting in a total of £11,500. There were seven winners this year and next year’s event is already fully sponsored.
The team are busy writing the new strategy for 2017-2020 and deciding on the new priorities and how to find new investment. This is based on the results from the business survey.

J Doe said a new strategy is very important and they will be working with other council departments. It is hoped the new strategy will go to Full Council this year so it might be useful for this to be added to the committee’s work programme.

Councillor G Adshead referred to item 1.7 in the report and asked if the team were addressing the issues that made the 23% not score Dacorum highly in the survey.

R Oblein said there are several wider issues. The team work with Hertfordshire County Council and the Herts LEP to try and solve some of these issues. It is hoped that new growth corridors will be built within the new Enterprise Zone to relieve parking and traffic problems. There is constant work being done with the sustainable transport team to reduce the number of cars. The Maylands link bus from the train station to the Maylands area has been taken on by Red Eagle after the contract ended with Arriva. The Ambassadors are looking at the skills shortage and transport issues to hopefully come up with a solution.

Councillor Birnie referred to item 1.3 and asked if the £36,500 was raised through membership fees.

R Oblein said it was membership fees. The fee ranges from £3,500 for larger businesses to £500 for smaller ones. The fee is based on the number of staff in each business.

Councillor Birnie referred to item 1.7 and the difficulty in finding move on premises for new businesses. Is it possible to provide a directory of premises?

L Crisp said she works closely with businesses and helps them with property searches. There is a big shortage of industrial units of 1,500-4,000 sqft.

Councillor Hicks asked about the funding for the Hemel Ambassadors.

R Oblein said the funding was for a two year period. The target was to achieve £40,000 so currently we are not that far off. We are aware of the need to retain members to ensure we receive the same fees year on year. Also, it is important to ensure that members are getting value for money. Network meetings tend to sign up more members. The most successful Ambassador scheme in the country is in Coventry where they have 100 members and generate £120,000 a year.

J Doe said it was important to protect employment land but can’t prevent development applications. The government may make it easier to turn office space into residential.

Councillor Anderson asked for some evidence to back up policies.

J Doe said they have established the occupancy of the Maylands Industrial Estate and it is either full or committed.

R Oblein said they are working on an Employability Land Assessment.

Councillor S Hearn said that empty shops could provide ideal floorspace for small, modern businesses. Agricultural buildings are often converted to be expensive homes.

Councillor Birnie agreed that empty shops are ideal with short term lets.

Councillor G Adshead referred to paragraph 1.15 in the report. He questioned the sliding rent scale and its impact on small businesses.

L Crisp said that at first, the third year rent was much lower than other premises so small businesses found there was a huge hike when they had to move out of the Maylands Business Centre. Therefore, the rent is now staggered each year to prepare them for when they have to move out. It is hoped this will help businesses prepare for future premises and smaller businesses can get help with their budgets.

Councillor Fisher asked what qualifications are gained through the apprenticeships offered.

L Crisp said they ranged from Level 2 to degree level qualifications. L Crisp said she had recently been to a meeting with secondary schools to try and help remove the stigma attached to apprenticeships.

Councillor G Adshead praised the team on the workshops being fully booked. He asked how many people can attend the training and how are they advertised.

L Crisp said it depended on the course. The Microsoft training course can only have 10 people attending because there is a lot of a hand on help. Other courses can be up to 17 or 18 people as that’s how many can comfortably fit in the meeting room. The Excel course ran 22 times as it was so popular. There is a database of businesses and people that get sent a monthly list of training courses. Anyone can book on these courses. L Crisp said she can add the committee members onto the database if they so wish.

Councillor G Sutton said how proud he was of the team. He said they are forward thinking and proactive. As a business owner it is difficult to find sensible business advice and as a tenant of the business centre, the team have been great and would like to thank them sincerely for all their work.

Outcome

That the Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee note the report.