The Manchester Office was glad to welcome Dylan McDonald for his weeks work experience over the summer…read on to hear from Dylan and read his blog on Devon & Torbay’s Local Growth Plan.
During my week’s work experience at Metro Dynamics, I was introduced to the range of work that they do from helping local authorities develop Local Growth Plans (LGPs) to helping Manchester Airport Group with analysing the data from their new direct routes to and from Beijing.
I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to undergo a wealth of different experiences such as sitting in on client and internal meetings which gave me valuable insight into how businesses communicate effectively with clients and colleagues.
My over-arching task was to produce a blog post about their involvement with the LGP for the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (CCA). This allowed me discover the complexities of stimulating growth and all the different factors which must be taken into consideration.
This sparked my interest in studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at university, a field I had not previously considered. This also allowed me to develop skills that are vital in a degree such as referencing and presenting my work in a professional manner - something I had never really had to do before. I also took part in some analytical work, allowing me to strengthen my critical thinking and data interpretation skills.
After some research post my work experience, I discovered that the passion I had gained from my work experience for helping places grow translated into a PPE degree as I was fascinated by the complexity of how various factors interact and must be balanced to achieve effective outcomes.
Devon & Torbay Local Growth Plan – Summary by Dylan McDonald
Local growth plans (LGPs) are documents made by combined authorities to outline how they plan on creating economic growth and infrastructure improvements in an area by highlighting their issues that are preventing economic growth and suggesting solutions to address these issues. The main issues they are meant to address are housing, transport, investments and labour supply. They have been introduced so that each place can address their issues in a way that will best suit them. The current labour government outlined in their manifesto their promise to establish a statutory requirement for local growth plans across every combined authority. They also published the English Devolution White paper in December 2024 which formally set out their plan to make local growth plans statutory. The levelling up and regeneration act of 2023 introduced the requirement for local growth plans to be statutory and Labour built upon this legislation.
Originally, devolution was about cities and how they can contribute to the country more: for example the Greater Manchester and West Midlands devolution deals. However, now it is about how all places can improve their economic growth. This includes more rural places such as Devon and Torbay and Hull and East Riding. These places will have to articulate the constraints on growth in non- urban centric, rural regions and their future path to contributing to economic growth. Metro Dynamics are at the forefront of supporting these areas in identifying the constraints and opportunities and then suggesting policies to establish the foundation of economic growth. [1] [2]
Metro Dynamics supported Devon and Torbay with collection of evidence in regards to constraints on future growth and also the opportunities for future growth. They then supported the combined county authority to develop a set of priorities which establish the foundation for stimulating future economic growth.
The overarching aim of the plan is to reduce the economic disparity and encourage economic growth. Whilst on the whole economic disparity is not too bad of an issue, there are still some areas which have significantly fallen behind e.g. the Torbay coast and West Devon. To achieve this aim Metro Dynamics identified 3 key areas which, if improved, would reduce economic disparity and increase economic growth. These areas include housing, the labour force and transportation.
This Blog will outline the economic strengths of the area, the barriers to future growth and the plan to overcome these barriers.
Strengths
Devon and Torbay’s economies have grown steadily over time, in line with the national trend. These economies have also recovered quickly since the pandemic between 2019 and 2022. Torbay’s economy has shown 4% growth and Devon’s 6.8% since the Pandemic which significantly outpaces the UKs overall growth of 2.6% from the same time. The area is widely recognised for offering a strong quality of life and high standard of living.
Its scenic natural landscapes such as its coastline, moorlands and river valleys also add to the attraction of the area. The region’s rich, natural endowments and its blue and green infrastructure underpin a vibrant and growing tourism sector which creates nearly 33,000 local jobs. In addition, there are also opportunities in professions such as agriculture, maritime, defence and energy. The area's strong maritime sector, coastal ports and links to Plymouth maritime and defence clusters provide key supply chains for small manufacturers. Moreover, the area's proximity to the sea places the area in a good position to develop a clean, renewable energy source.
Restrictions
Housing
The key issue with the housing in Devon and Torbay is the availability. There is a lack of affordable, desirable houses which drives the price of the houses up for local residents. The housing affordability ratio in Devon and Torbay is poor in lots of areas and much higher than the national average. This is detrimental to the region’s future growth as higher house prices will drive away potential skilled workers, business owners and people interested in moving into the area. Not only does this mean that there is a lack of workers, it means there is a smaller local consumer market. Therefore, small businesses in the area will struggle to thrive.
Labour pool
One of the biggest constraints on future growth for Devon and Torbay is the aging population. The number of residents aged over 65 is increasing and projected to be the largest age demographic in the region by 2033, overtaking the 40- 64 age demographic.
The number of 0-19 year olds and 20-39 year olds is projected to remain stable in the upcoming years. This means that it will be difficult to replenish the workforce as the older 40-64 demographic retire. Devon’s youth unemployment rate remains low at 0.61%. This suggests that the problem is not that young people are not working, but instead that there is a lack of young workers. This will be a major constraint on future growth meaning that it is imperative that the number of young people who are working is increased by attracting them to the region and incentivising the young people already here to stay.
The Plan
The plan sets out five priorities to deliver more inclusive growth.
Providing affordable and appealing houses is vital to support future growth. The Devon and Torbay combined county authority will use its powers to unlock housing sites, attract investment and create a housing plan and the region will focus on creating homes that locals can afford before putting them on the open market. Furthermore, the DTCCA will work with Homes England to build and deliver the strategic housing pipeline and, if necessary, the CCA will use its powers to access land assembly and compulsory purchase powers. In addition, the Green Homes investment plan will be delivered in order to provide sustainable housing alongside partnerships with central government and house developers being made to ensure that there are reasonably priced, desirable houses for local residents.
Ensuring that the region has its next generation of employees is the key to unlocking the future growth of the region. In order to retain the young talent, people must be made aware of the plentiful opportunities in the region and the benefits of building/ being a part of a business in the region. Moreover, Devon and Torbay must develop their skills whilst creating a unique place narrative and identity that they want to be a part of.
Conclusion
The LGP has now completed its public consultation phase and has been formally approved by the County Combined Authority board. It will now deliver three supporting documents, which will set out detailed plans for transport, housing, and skills development across the region. All of these documents will sit beneath the overarching corporate plan, helping to unlock the region’s economic potential and promote growth, thereby reducing economic disparities in the area.
[1] English devolution white paper , Labour, 16th December 2024
[2] Labour Manifesto 2024, Labour, June 13th 2024