The Draft Torbay Economic Strategy has been published for public consultation to allow people from across the business community to have their say and help shape the new Strategy.

Torbay’s Elected Mayor, Gordon Oliver, said: “This revised Economic Strategy for Torbay provides a five year plan to continue to build on the success of the previous Strategy and to address new challenges and opportunities that have emerged since that Strategy was published.

“The Strategy will promote sustainable economic growth by creating an environment which supports new enterprise, both commercial and social, nurtures existing businesses and attracts investment, creating more and better employment opportunities for our local communities. It will be a shared Strategy, engaging stakeholders across the public, private and third sectors to help deliver Torbay’s economic ambitions.”

The draft Strategy sets out a series of actions designed to support and stimulate productive growth around four key objectives:

• Continue to create an environment in which businesses and jobs can grow
• Accelerate the development of employment space geared to business needs
• Raise skills levels and broaden the skills base within the workforce
• Deliver a successful town centre regeneration programme.

Through the delivery of the strategy Torbay Council and TDA aim to:

• Create 2000 gross new jobs by 2022
• Create over 100 new businesses
• Provide support to over 650 businesses
• Help over 300 unemployed people into work
• Enable or create over 335,000 sq ft of new employment space

Bringing about growth is not without its challenges. However, Torbay has significant strengths, including its status as a successful resort, high levels of business start-ups, some outstanding education provision and an increasingly active and engaged business community. These strengths justify optimism in Torbay’s ability to make the most of these opportunities.

Visit Economic Strategy Consultation to see the draft Strategy. Torbay Council and TDA encourage the business community to provide feedback through the survey.