Carlisle Renaissance

Ambitious plans to boost the economy

Proposals to increase Carlisle's population by over 40%, over the next 20 years have been put forward as part of a Draft Economic Strategy which is about to go out for public consultation.

The strategy has been drawn up by a partnership of representatives from leading private, public and voluntary sector organisations.

It sets out what is necessary to grow the economy and secure long-term economic prosperity in the area. Alongside population growth, it advocates measures to improve skills in the workforce, revitalise deprived urban and rural neighbourhoods and provide support for business innovation.

John Nixon, who jointly chairs an Economy & Enterprise Group, which has drawn up the strategy, said:

Like people, towns and cities periodically need to take stock of their economic circumstances and to think how the future is to be shaped and how their prospects will be improved.

The intention is to be bold, ambitious and confident about Carlisle's prospects. Accordingly, the Strategy is based on the opportunities arising from significant population growth over the next 20 years. The presumption is that growth is needed to make Carlisle's economy stronger and to support the range and choice of services and facilities expected in a dynamic, University City.

At this stage, the draft is a statement of intent, to generate comment and to gauge public reaction. The Strategy, which is being developed with involvement from the public, private and voluntary sectors is the means of securing local commitment to a vision of Carlisle's future economic development.

The City Council has facilitated the work of the Economy & Enterprise Group, which is part of the Carlisle Partnership formed last year. Cllr Mike Mitchelson, Leader of Carlisle City Council and Chairman of the Carlisle Partnership, said: "When Carlisle Renaissance was launched, it was widely recognised that our aspirations could not be achieved without a cohesive strategy for achieving economic growth and one that addresses the needs of the local community alongside the needs of business.

The City Council and its partners have already begun to deliver projects on the ground to help people into employment and help small businesses to grow and, early next year, the first improvement works in the City Centre will start. Now we have a strategy that draws together all the different aspects of the renaissance agenda.

It is abundantly clear that we cannot expect Carlisle to prosper without making bold decisions now about how we plan to help shape the future. The strategy contains some exciting proposals and I look forward to engaging in a debate in the coming weeks about out priorities for action.

The strategy incorporates an indicative action plan for 2008-11 that sets out the type of project activity that will be required to implement proposals on the ground. The public as well as key local, regional and national partners are being consulted on the proposals over the next six weeks and the final strategy will be presented for adoption by key stakeholders at the end of the year.

Copies of the Consultation Draft Economic Strategy (and a proforma for submitting comments) are available from Carlisle City Council's web site (www.carlisle.gov.uk) or by calling 01228 817110.