Paper A - West Kent SWOT WKP Meeting 20 October 2017 – Strengths Weaknesses Strong base of highly skilled and motivated workers Traditional economic strengths under erosion Proximity to London, M25 and Europe Significantly lower GVA than South East average Attractive sites for relocating businesses and agility to Pockets of deprivation that can fall below radar deliver smaller sites quickly Limited Higher Education facilities Embedded and successful sub county partnership and number of large employers strong LEP alignment High house prices causing recruitment issues High quality of life, cultural and leisure facilities High levels of out commuting for work Vibrant key sectors Relative shortage of good quality sites and Resilient SME sector premises for business use and expansion Good business start-up rates with high survival rates Traffic congestion in urban areas Strong visitor economy Planning and environmental constraints Consistently low levels of unemployment Rural broadband infrastructure incomplete High quality rural landscape and AONB Skills retention issues Good quality primary and secondary schools Local resistance to change Recent investments achieved (eg A21 dualling, Peters Pit, Tonbridge TC) and plans for further significant investment (eg T Wells Theatre/civic centre Opportunities Threats Low level investment can unlock high levels of local Lack of capacity in strategic road and rail networks growth Competition from other areas for funding Strong entrepreneurial culture infrastructure Attractive relocation sites High local house prices and need for additional Access to business support programmes eg Kent & affordable housing – Medway Business Fund, LEADER, SEBB population Development of supported business premises around High commuting costs and service and reliability key sectors issues Potential to optimize Apprenticeship Levy to address Need for higher skilled jobs vs poor attainment skills shortages Pressure for residential development over Potential for Higher Education expansion employment uses Active business community Possible impact of Brexit on business confidence to Possible Brexit opportunities invest and availability of labour
Paper A - West Kent SWOT – WKP Meeting 20 October 2017 Strengths Strong base of highly skilled and motivated workers Proximity to London, M25 and Europe Attractive sites for relocating businesses and agility to deliver smaller sites quickly Embedded and successful sub county partnership and strong LEP alignment High quality of life, cultural and leisure facilities Vibrant key sectors Resilient SME sector Good business start-up rates with high survival rates Strong visitor economy Consistently low levels of unemployment High quality rural landscape and AONB Good quality primary and secondary schools Recent investments achieved (eg A21 dualling, Peters Pit, Tonbridge TC) and plans for further significant investment (eg T Wells Theatre/civic centre Weaknesses Traditional economic strengths under erosion Significantly lower GVA than South East average Pockets of deprivation that can fall below radar Limited Higher Education facilities number of large employers High house prices causing recruitment issues High levels of out commuting for work Relative shortage of good quality sites and premises for business use and expansion Traffic congestion in urban areas Planning and environmental constraints Rural broadband infrastructure incomplete Skills retention issues Local resistance to change Opportunities Low level investment can unlock high levels of local growth Strong entrepreneurial culture Attractive relocation sites Access to business support programmes – eg Kent & Medway Business Fund, LEADER, SEBB Development of supported business premises around key sectors Potential to optimize Apprenticeship Levy to address skills shortages Potential for Higher Education expansion Active business community Possible Brexit opportunities Threats Lack of capacity in strategic road and rail networks Competition from other areas for funding infrastructure High local house prices and need for additional affordable housing population High commuting costs and service and reliability issues Need for higher skilled jobs vs poor attainment Pressure for residential development over employment uses Possible impact of Brexit on business confidence to invest and availability of labour
Paper-A-WK-SWOT.docx