Swindon Chamber of Commerce (SCC) has called upon Swindon Borough Council to review the feedback on the Core Strategy for economic growth and prosperity in its revised document due to be published in October.
In a letter sent to the council, SCC, part of the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group and the voice of business in the town, sets out a number of key principles which it believes Swindon's business community would support. These principles start with “a recognition by the council of recent job losses in the town and a firm commitment in its economic strategy to a programme of job creation through nurturing local business and inward investment”.
Heydar Faramarzi, the chamber's president/lead ambassador said: “SCC has always engaged with the council in strategic planning matters and, in recent years, has done so jointly with other business support organisations such as GWE, the Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce and Federation of Small Businesses.
"We hope to play a positive part when the new strategy document is published and will work closely with all other business support organisations in submitting representations as we have in the past. We are confident that the council will take on board the strong views of the local business community that were encompassed in our representations last year and adopt a more positive approach and attitude to economic growth and prosperity.”
Other key principles set out in the letter include:
• identification of a suitable large new employment site with good access to the principal road network;
• a housing strategy predicated on a realistic forecast of economic growth prospects;
• the land strategy and policy framework should reflect the upper end of any range of economic forecast to make sufficient land available to meet market requirements;
• a commitment to maintaining and enhancing the viability and attractiveness of Swindon town centre and other local shopping centres in the Borough;
• a general commitment to maintaining and developing infrastructure requirements of the Borough and maintaining long-term sustainable prosperity for the local community;
• effective delivery of regeneration projects that can improve the Swindon offer to support attracting new businesses as well as retaining existing organisations and encouraging local consumption;
• improving skills and encouraging establishment of Higher Education facilities;
• supporting entrepreneurship with assistance for new business start-up, particularly where this may help reduce long term unemployment
