9
East Sussex – Growth Plans
Introduction to the County
The very make up of the county gives us a sound foundation to build on: East Sussex, with a
population of 526, 631, provides a major opportunity to realise the economic potential offered by its
combination of towns within the more populated coastal, urban boroughs of Eastbourne and
Hastings, and within the geographically larger, more rural districts of Lewes, Rother and Wealden.
East Sussex has both strengths and opportunities: a diversified private sector base; high levels of selfemployment; niche sectors; university campuses; an outstanding natural environment; a low carbon
footprint and; space to grow.
9.1 The county is diverse: East Sussex contains a number of major coastal towns including Hastings,
Bexhill, Eastbourne, Newhaven, and Seaford, as well as rural towns and settlements, for example
Crowborough, Uckfield, Lewes and, Hailsham. Some of the county’s coastal towns, notably Hastings,
despite enjoying an outstanding environment and unique cultural assets, exhibit social and economic
challenges in common with coastal towns elsewhere in the SELEP area. In some rural areas there exist
pockets of deprivation, access to services and affordable housing issues in particular.
9.2 East Sussex enjoys an outstanding local environment all of which, rural, coastal and urban, are the
foundation for the county’s visitor economy. There are direct rail connections to London and Ashford,
but the journeys are over long, there are good connections to Brighton and Hove. The county also has
good access to mainland Europe through the county port of Newhaven as well as via neighbouring
Ashford International Station and Gatwick Airport for further journeys. With improved broadband
connectivity and speed, issues with transport infrastructure could become less of a barrier for some
types of business. There remains however a clear need for investment in road, rail and other physical
infrastructure to enable our assets work harder if the growth potential of the county is to be fully
realised.
10 We have made excellent progress on addressing some of the issues already but to fully benefit from
the economic opportunities afforded by the area we need to tackle some issues further whilst
capitalising and on the opportunities we have now and will create in the future. This will be through
the interventions set out in this Plan: Opening up locations for growth and further regenerating our
coastal communities; supporting our SMEs with the finance they need to grow; supporting businesses
through innovation and enterprise programmes; improving business appropriate skills and increasing
employment; and creating more housing including affordable.
10.1 [DN. Please delete the map]
Some challenges to the growth of the East Sussex Economy
10.2 Despite the high quality environment and quality of life experienced by most East Sussex residents,
the county has not yet maximised the economic opportunities of its proximity to London or Brighton
because of deficiencies in road and rail infrastructure. Historic underinvestment in infrastructure
within the south east was clearly acknowledged within the Regional Strategy; whilst the Regional
Strategy is now revoked the need for investment to unlock growth clearly remains.
10.3 Estimates predict population growth from 527,000 in 2011 to 568,000 in 20211 at 7.9%, or a 41,000
increase. The county is however underperforming economically, not only in relation to the South East
of England, but also in relation to some other parts of the SELEP area. There are too few jobs – with a
low job density of 0.64 jobs per resident, compared with 0.7 in SELEP as a whole 2. The level of selfemployment is relatively high, but the East Sussex Local Economic Assessment noted that this is as
likely to be due to a highly entrepreneurial base, as an option of last resort for many. There is a higher
level of economic inactivity, at 22.8%, compared to 20.7% in the South East3. These overall figures
however mask variations that exist across East Sussex, for example the highest inactivity rate is in
Hastings at 28.3%; the lowest is in Wealden at 18.9. The more detailed analysis and understanding of
our economy has shaped our proposed interventions.
10.4 Workplace based full time median weekly earnings are low, at £460 per week; the lowest is in Rother
at £428. This reflects the low level of GVA of much of the county’s employment. Median earnings in
the South East are £537. Reflecting the occupational and employment structure, there are relatively
fewer employed residents in the county in higher level occupations, and the proportion of residents
with higher level skills is also relatively low, at 30.1%, compared with 36.8% across the South East.
Deprivation in East Sussex
10.5 Substantial efforts have been made to address deprivation, e.g reversing low levels of skills and
motivation, ingrained benefit dependency, and reversing the imbalance of inflows of economically
inactive people while many young people who acquire higher skills leave the county. Nevertheless,
parts of East Sussex still experience the high levels of deprivation. The most significant levels of
deprivation are concentrated in the county’s coastal towns. Hastings is the most deprived local
authority area in the region and ranks amongst the 20 most deprived areas in the country. The ID2010
measures deprivation for small areas - lower layer super output areas (LSOAs) containing around
1,500 people. 22 LSOAs in East Sussex are amongst the 10% most disadvantaged in England. Of these,
15 are in Hastings, five are in Eastbourne and two are in Rother. 4
Proportion of LSOAs by IMD 2010 decile
Eastbourne
Hastings
Lewes
Rother
Wealden
East Sussex
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Most deprived 10%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Least Deprived 10%
10.6 Further challenges to the growth of the East Sussex economy result from:

the geographic, social and economic problems facing some of the coastal towns;

the lack of existing appropriate employment space available to new and growing
businesses;
1
ONS sub-national population projections
2
ONS (2012) Jobs Density
3
ONS APS
4
Indices of Deprivation 2010 (ID 2010)
2

stalled development sites – and industrial or commercial blight where commercial
properties are left empty;

transport infrastructure problems and congestion; and,

additional housing need, including affordable.
Priority sectors in the East Sussex economy
10.7 A number of sectors have been identified as particularly important contributors towards the
employment growth of the county, these are: Finance and business services, retail, professional
services, health and social work, construction, other business services, and distribution, hotels and
catering (tourism).
10.8 There are also some important sub-sectors in which the county has a competitive advantage. The
most important are: The cultural and creative industries; agriculture (including wine production);
offshore renewables/ renewables and; education (e.g. foreign language schools).
Fig. 1 East Sussex main sectors by percentage and the sectors by percentage that sit within
the Government’s priority sectors
10.9 The smaller pie chart in fig. 1 above shows the county position specifically in relation to the
government’s industrial strategy and the identification of priority growth sectors common to both.
Importantly there is also potential in these sectors in the county:
Advanced manufacturing: East Sussex has a high concentration of the manufacture of
instruments and appliances for measuring; and in computer/electronic/optical and other
machinery equipment;
Med Tech: Although much of this is within the care sector, which is highly significant in the
local economy. Activities include hospital activities, medical and dental practice activities and
social work;
Low carbon – for example the strong possibility of the development of an off-shore wind
farm at Newhaven could yield the potential for operations and maintenance being based in
the port, the new “Clean Tech” UTC and growth in the sector-related supply chain.
3
Vision and ambition
We have both vision and ambition: We will use our real and virtual networks to connect with markets
and deliver increasing volumes of value-added business support, particularly in the areas of creativity,
professional services, advanced manufacturing, health and social services, hospitality and tourism.
Our mix of smaller business will increasingly nimble to market trends and developing technology.
10.10 Since 1995 the East Sussex economy has achieved GVA growth year on year with the one exception
being 2009. Despite the continuing difficult national economic situation, the East Sussex economy
has demonstrated economic resilience and recovery since the recession with GVA growth 2009 - 11
of plus 7% against the UK at 5.5%. We will build on this local success.5
10.11 On the basis of the high growth scenario for the LEP discussed in Chapter… we would aim to grow
the East Sussex economy by 11.4% over the 2011 figure, creating 24,300 additional jobs, making a
total of 237,700 jobs in the county by 2021. This would reflect the LEP ambitions to perform at the
same level as the South East region.
10.12
We will achieve this growth through a comprehensive programme across the county comprising:

Opening up locations for growth and further regenerating our coastal communities;

Supporting SMEs with the finance they need to grow

Supporting businesses through innovation and enterprise programmes;

Improving business appropriate skills and increasing employment; and,

Creating more housing including affordable
Locations for growth
East Sussex has already proved it can deliver on its ambitions and has achieved a significant amount
through the Government’s GPF and RGF schemes, particularly through the local delivery agent
SeaChange Sussex, for example: In 2012 SeaChange successfully bid for £5.5m RGF to develop North
Queensway Business Park, Hastings comprising a 13 acre site, the scheme is set to deliver up to 300
private sector jobs in the area’s primary manufacturing sectors. A further £1.5m was also secured for
the scheme from GPF. All across the county there is opportunity for further growth to create jobs that
will be encouraged providing it is appropriate for the area. There are however some specific locations
that will provide distinct opportunities:
Coastal Communities
10.13
Many of our key locations for growth are around the coast, and unlocking the potential of our
coastal towns is fundamental to realising our ambitions; our largest coastal towns, Eastbourne, Bexhill
and Hastings have significant opportunities for growth. However, the areas can present particular
challenges as a result of deprivation and the gradual erosion and deterioration of local infrastructure
and facilities due to a historic lack of investment. The viability of (some) commercial and housing
development sites is also an issue.
10.14
Due to their unique circumstances and constraints coastal communities need to do more than the
‘basics’ if they are to reverse underinvestment. Most coastal communities can point to examples of
5
ONS Dec 2012
4
capital assets of cultural or social significance that are either neglected or under-utilised where
investment is needed to realise their real economic potential. In many cases such assets require
public sector investment as there is initially no commercial incentive for the private sector. ‘Place
shaping’ describes an investment-led approach to support local regeneration by improving the
economic value of key assets including cultural, tourism and education, which create a richness of an
offer that invites people to visit, invest and move to the county. East Sussex proposes to help support
these specific interventions through grants and loans either provided through the Investment Fund or
via a specific ‘Place Shaping’ fund.
Hastings
10.15
The town is well positioned to further its role as a major employment centre. The focus for
regeneration and economic growth will be the development of up to 70,000m2 of employment
floorspace. This will require the continuing development of new office space at Priory Quarter in
Hastings town centre, the development of Enviro21 Innovation Parks in the Queensway Employment
Corridor and the development of other employment space in existing employment areas across the
Borough. There will also be renewal of the existing older stock of employment premises through an
employment land and premises protection policy and encouraging the provision of live/work units
within housing developments. The Borough intends to deliver 3,400 homes between 2011 -2028 at
around 200 dwellings per annum.
Bexhill
10.16
Over the period up to 2028 Rother District Council intends to develop over 2,000 homes and
60,000 m2 of employment space. The majority of the development space is in to the north and east of
Bexhill and access will be required through the Bexhill to Hastings Link Road coupled with the addition
of the smaller ‘Gateway Road’. The Bexhill Business Mall being developed by SeaChange Sussex with
SELEP GPF funding already allocated will act as the initial catalyst for this strategic development site.
The District will also give particular attention to supporting market towns and environmental qualities
in Battle and Rye and to promoting vital, mixed communities in the rural areas.
Eastbourne
10.17
The priority locations for balanced housing growth and community facilities are in the town
centre and Sovereign Harbour. Economic growth will be stimulated by an improved range of flexible
and high quality employment and mixed use commercial space in existing industrial and employment
areas. The town centre can accommodate around 1,200 new homes and retail and office
development, and Sovereign Harbour has extensive (c20, 000m2) employment development potential
through a high quality business park to include 150 new homes.
Newhaven
Newhaven is in Lewes District, one of the least employment deprived districts in East Sussex,
notwithstanding this, there are recognised employment challenges in Newhaven. Here however there
is real potential for development of the clean technologies and the marine sector. A Clean Tech
Growth Hub will be developed to capitalise on opportunities associated with E.ON’s operations and
maintenance base for the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm; Veolia’s Energy Recovery Facility; and the
new University Technology College (UTC) for the marine and environmental engineering sector. Sites
have been identified to accommodate a proposed Clean Tech facility but require investigation and
works to mitigate flood risk and land contamination.
South Wealden
10.18
Improving economic prosperity and reducing economic disparities across the district is a key
challenge. This is related to retaining existing employment areas and allocating new space as part of
urban extensions to enable cross subsidy of employment provision with housing land. There is a need
to focus on provision in South Wealden where there is the greatest need. The Core Strategy proposes
5
significant housing growth within Hailsham (1300 dwellings) and Uckfield (1000 dwellings) with
additional growth at Stone Cross (650 dwellings) and Polegate (700 dwellings). In relation to
employment opportunities there is potential for some 40,000m2 of employment land, principally in
Hailsham, Polegate and Uckfield and 17,000m2 of retail floorspace, centred on Uckfield and Hailsham.
Community Led Local Development and Leader
10.19
In recognition of the advantages of local community led regeneration, specific communities in
East Sussex are showing a keen interest in pursuing CLLD, these include Hastings & Rother,
Newhaven, Seaford and Eastbourne. Further development of these initiatives will take place between
now and June 2014 when the EOIs will be submitted. In addition, it is likely that FLAGs will also be
developed as appropriate (for example the fishing port of Hastings already has a successful CLLD FLAG). Given the success of the most recent Leader programme (WARR - Wealden and Rural Rother)
Leader is again to be an important element of realising rural opportunity; the WARR LAG has gained
an allocation from DEFRA for Transition funding until the next programme opens.
10.20
Growth in the rural economy
10.21
Many of the issues and opportunities around economic development and growth in East Sussex
are not specific to urban or rural areas, but some are more acute or more acutely felt in rural areas.
Proposals for addressing some of these rural specific issues include facilitating affordable housing and
small scale local business to support and retain rural communities; tapping into enterprise support
initiatives including supporting business to take on employees; local renewable energy production
and; investigating planning ease in respect of the commercial retention of redundant farm business
and cross subsidisation with housing.
Infrastructure requirements
10.22
We have already outlined the importance of using infrastructure as a tool to reaching our
potential: There are a number of key transport and other infrastructure requirements which are
immediate and essential priorities, these are summarised below:
1.1.
Package 1.2.
of
Investment
Description
1.3.
1.4.
Baldslow Link
Link road between The Ridge and the A21
Hastings
1.5.
A22/A27
Junction
Improvements
Package of 5 junction improvements to the north of
Eastbourne
Eastbourne, South
Wealden
1.6.
Local transport
improvements
A number of schemes including bus priority measures to
enable an express bus service along the Eastbourne/South
Wealden corridor, town centre accessibility packages for
Eastbourne, Newhaven, Bexhill, and Hastings; cycle
network and bus corridor packages in the three growth
areas; real time passenger information and wheels to work
and education schemes
Eastbourne, South
Wealden, Bexhill,
Hastings,
Newhaven
1.7.
Infrastructure
Investment Fund
Critical infrastructure requirements to allow housing,
including affordable housing, commercial site
development, building refit/change of use, enterprise area
development and coastal communities actions (4.85m
2015/16
Across the County
6
Locations
for
growth supported
1.1.
Package 1.2.
of
Investment
Description
1.3.
Facilitating
Actions for
Economic
Growth
Local schemes in support of rural housing and employment
growth, supporting facilities for Gateways to Growth,
Broadband (final 4%), Coastal Communities, CLLD
(including FLAGs) and supporting renewable energy
Across the County
Further
Education
investments
A number of indicative capital schemes have been
submitted by our FE colleges which will be further
progressed. They include developing a GPS technology
centre; outreach; a STEM centre and sports facilities
Across the County
Locations
for
growth supported
Enterprise Zones
10.23
East Sussex has three proposals for Enterprise Zones that if progressed would be in further
support of realising economic potential. These are:

East Sussex Coastal Enterprise Parks (ESCEP – Hastings and Rother): Anticipated outputs are: 300
businesses across a full range of services including high value engineering, IT hardware /
software, financial and professional services.

A22 Growth Corridor Enterprise Area (Wealden and Eastbourne): In total this provides some
60,000m2 of employment land and could accommodate 2,000 jobs in a ‘corridor-style’ Enterprise
Zone of approximately 22 miles.

Hastings Seafront Enterprise Area. Anticipated outputs of: c350 FTE over a period of 2+ years.
The majority of jobs will be in the visitor, hospitality, leisure, cultural, creative and retail sectors.
Broadband – Improving Connectivity for Growth
10.24
Fit for purpose Broadband connectivity and speed is a key element in furthering economic
growth.
10.25
The current e-Sussex Broadband project is now rolling out improved connectivity and speeds
(approximately 96% of the county will receive superfast speeds in 2016); East Sussex County Council
has already invested £15m in support of this. There remains however around 4% which will not
receive this upgrade. With the additional support proposed East Sussex County Council’s ultimate
vision and that of its partners, for the competitive provision of superfast broadband to 100% of
premises by 2017 would be accomplished.
Housing
10.26
There are many stalled developments currently across the county partly due to viability and/ or
critical infrastructure issues. A number of the possible significant development locations are within
our coastal towns. A recent report6 commissioned by the SELEP coastal communities group has
identified that a key feature of these coastal towns is that, compared to many parts of the SELEP area,
housing is relatively cheap (hence viability issues) and development land relatively available.
Development of professionally managed market rented housing, alongside homes for sale and
affordable homes would boost the overall output of new homes and meet a real need. The authorities
in partnership with other SELEP coastal areas will investigate the role of Registered Providers building
for market rent without the requirement for affordable housing provision, enabled by public sector
6
Coastal Towns Private Rented Sector Initiative, draft Report, Wessex Economics Nov 2013
7
land along with alternative sources of funding. A proposed Housing Investment Fund would provide a
flexible source to kick start this new form of development.
10.27
In parallel with such initiatives there is a need to maintain investment in those parts of the
coastal towns that have dysfunctional & predominant private rented sectors which have a
disproportionate impact on the image of those towns to those who would invest in the area.
10.28
Housing therefore remains an infrastructure requirement across the county and the development
of affordable housing is key in this, both in the urban and rural areas. Although in line with Local Plans
a number of sites designated for housing have barriers to their development and issues on viability
and deliverability have been identified; facilitating these sites to move forward will be a key part of
the proposed East Sussex Investment Fund.
Innovation and Enterprise
Business Support – Gateways to Growth
10.29
We know a large number of our business would consider growth/ would grow if the appropriate
targeted support were available, we need to exploit this potential: In line with other areas in the
SELEP we are seeking to co-locate business support programmes and encourage better co-ordinated
access for business through a Gateway to Growth. Discussions have been held with government
agencies, in particular Growth Accelerator and Manufacturing Advisory Service, as well as with the
Universities, and local business support providers and representative organisations in order to start to
identify how this will be delivered.
10.30
As part of the local Gateway to Growth, East Sussex are seeking to have focus on potential high
growth firms ‘pre-gazelles’ in order to target business support where it will result in maximum growth
and vfm.
10.31
In relation to low carbon, the county is looking at and developing a range of low carbon schemes
including with cross LEP partners and via the Coastal Communities. It is expected that one of the wins
from activity in this area will be the supply of low carbon goods and services by local SMEs.
Inward Investment - Locate East Sussex
10.32
The County Council in partnership with all the District and Borough Councils in East Sussex has
invested £660,600 in a 3 year contract with Lets Do Business Group (SE) Ltd over an initial three-year
period to support growing businesses in East Sussex. The service will provide assistance with location
decisions and access to funding to accelerate growth, as well as providing valuable connections to
local planning and economic development teams.
10.33
Locate East Sussex will contribute to the creation of a more desirable environment for the growth
of new and existing businesses throughout the county, as well as promoting inward business
migration. This service is an important element within the wider package of business support that will
be provided through EU and national funds and via finance for business..
Investment Fund
8
10.34
Due in part to aging and or poor/inappropriate commercial infrastructure and an inadequate
housing supply a key element of enabling economic growth in East Sussex is the provision of a local
Infrastructure Fund. This will be aimed at the private and public sectors and will be in a position to
respond to locally identified need in these and related areas. Schemes have already been identified
across the county which are critical to commercial site development, existing ‘blighted’ building re fit
and the provision of housing, including affordable housing.
10.35
As an essential element of the
business support picture across East
Sussex, we have robust evidence that an
Track record – current Access to Finance
Investment Fund financial instrument has
schemes: The East Sussex County Council ’Rural
to be in place to add value to and broaden
Growth and Employment Fund’ (RuGEF) for
the focus of the existing capital Grants
£2.5m was launched in two 8-week rounds in
and Loans to business that we are
2012 and 2013. Over the whole programme we
currently offering (through the ESCC
have levered in £19,100,000 with the potential
programme– ‘East Sussex Invest’). To note
to create 693 direct and indirect jobs. Whilst
that our current fund is soon to be
RuGEF is not only available to businesses, in the
extended by RGF 4 funds in recognition by
second round only businesses applied.
BIS of local need, however this £4m RGF
has to be spent by 31 February 2015.
Hastings has also gained RGF 4 funding
(‘SUCCESS’) in recognition of the
importance of the creative and cultural industries locally. In response therefore to indicative and
actual demand East Sussex needs to continue the funding offer and open it out via the LGF to also
encompass an extended potential client range with a broadened focus on priority critical
infrastructure requirements in particular (but not solely) to enable new housing (including affordable)
and job creation via new/refurbished commercial property development to take place.
10.36
The total asks to date of these current critical infrastructure schemes is £60,390,850 on a wide
and important range of projects across the whole county. Currently the largest potential projects are
in Hastings (Priory Quarter phase 4, - £12.7m 930 jobs created), North East Bexhill (£12m, 1,585 jobs)
and Eastbourne (Sovereign Harbour 6 - £8m, 930 jobs).
10.37
Indicative project proposals indicate critical infrastructure projects could produce or facilitate
commercial floor space of 301,470sqm, 13,011 Jobs and 6,443 Housing units. Although depending on
the nature of the project
and the degree of market
failure it is expected that
loans will be the first
An example of the type of scheme that would be progressed
option, followed by grants
through such a fund is the Chaucer Business Park Extension–
or a mixture of both.
Electricity Substation, a project being progressed by a local
Skills and
Employment
10.38
A strong employer
voice exists, through the
East
Sussex
Annual
developer, who are building the second part of a large
modern industrial estate in Polegate on an ex-brown field site,
delivering an expected total of 337 jobs. Most of the funding for
the development was in place but it was £160,000 short. ESCC
through its East Sussex Invest grants and loans programme
provided the necessary £160,000 to unlock and speed up the
development.
9
Business Survey7, which articulates the need for improved employability skills, including improved
literacy and numeracy skills as a means of achieving growth.
10.39
The SELEP priorities have resonance with existing strategies and plans in East Sussex which,
indeed, together with consultation locally, have helped to inform the wider regional priorities. Locally,
partners have identified an overarching approach to skills development: Engagement, retention,
progression, connectivity which includes employer Involvement; shaping the training offer; and
tackling disengagement. The SELEP Skills Group has identified the need to focus on the following
which East Sussex fully supports: Careers Education, Information, Advice & Guidance (CEIAG);
Employer-led Infrastructure; Apprenticeships; SME Growth and stimulating employment; Transitions
to Work & Beyond and; Basic/Soft Skills. In addition specific asks of government have been articulated
in the main skills chapter.
10.40
Capital investment in our further education colleges are required to ensure that local provision
meets employer demand and lays the foundation for future skill needs and changing technologies.
Indicative projects include: refurbishment and new build to develop GPS technology centre (for land
based engineering and electronics); a STEM centre improvements (Supports Science (health /
medicine related) and Technology (Digital Media and Informatics)) and; development of sports
facilities. To date the indicative costs just through 15/16 – 16/17 are over £16m pointed to major
potential requirements from this sector.
Management and Delivery
10.41
The East Sussex members of the full SELEP Board have established a ‘Team East Sussex’ group in
recognition of the need to reach a joint understanding of SELEP objectives and how East Sussex can
contribute. This structure will form the basis of our local governance model moving forward; our local
governance therefore is already experienced in the structure, processes and objectives of the SELEP.
Team East Sussex necessarily has a very strong business voice, including representation from the
Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Business. It also includes the Leaders of each of
the District & Borough Councils, the County Council, and representation from the HE and FE sectors.
We intend to review the model in the coming months to ensure every aspect is fit for purpose, and
formalise the new structure through appropriate Terms of Reference.
10.42
In terms of delivery, governance on this has still to be worked through at SELEP level and Team
East Sussex will reflect on and input into how delivery is managed at this and at all relevant levels.
Suffice to say that there is sufficient expertise within TES to understand the requirements that will
need to be considered including that of vfm, compliance, transparency and process.
In addition East Sussex already has appropriate local partnership structures in place to support and be
part of the delivery infrastructure. This includes the Adult Learning and Skills Partnership Board
consisting of FE and HE representatives and the third and business sectors; the East Sussex Economic
Advisory Board comprising the private sector and the local authorities, ACES the Alliance of Chambers
of East Sussex, the Hastings and Rother Task Force (which reflects the economic cohesiveness of the
two areas), the Third sector and Rural Forums and other more informal groups.
The county clearly demonstrates the experience, the expertise and the organisational infrastructure
to deliver.
7
East Sussex County Council Annual Business Survey 2012
10
11