skip to main content
Greater Exeter Strategic Plan

Policy GESP10: Transformational Sectors

To enhance the ability of the Greater Exeter area to expand in key transformational sectors and deliver productivity improvements with high quality well-paid jobs:

  1. Significant weight in planning decisions will be given to the positive economic impact of investment in the following transformational sectors, including use of a gateway policy to control future uses in appropriate situations:
    1. Data analytics
    2. Environmental futures
    3. Smart transport
    4. Health Innovation
    5. Other digital future businesses
    6. Other sectors defined in a local plan
  2. The GESP allocates about 70 hectares of employment land to meet the development needs of the transformational sectors
  3. Provision of one or more Digital Exchanges will be supported
  4. The Greater Exeter councils will work together to support the expansion of these sectors through appropriate reform of planning processes, improvements to digital and other infrastructure, improved education and training and “soft landing” packages
  5. Continued investigations will be undertaken into potential barriers to investment and appropriate further actions taken

6.10 Improvements to productivity require that our economy changes and adapts, rather than just continuing to grow in the same way. For the Greater Exeter area, this means promoting those industries which will deliver productive jobs with higher pay. Work undertaken over a number of years, including the Local Industrial Strategy, has indicated that there are some key sectors which could promote this transformation. These are based on the presence of key knowledge and research organisations in the area such as University of Exeter and the Meteorological (Met) Office. A key location at present is formed by Exeter and the growth area to its east, in particular stretching from the University’s Streatham Campus across to Exeter Science Park. We consider that the provision of additional growing room for some of the key assets in this area will provide a good basis for its continued growth and success.

6.11 Transformational sectors identified for the Greater Exeter area include:

  • Data Analytics. Data analytics is the science of examining raw data using automated means with the purpose of drawing conclusions about that Increasingly, this involves massive amounts of data from disparate sources. This is a specialism which can support innovation across a range of industries and opportunities including the other transformational sectors referred to in the policy. The presence of high performance computing in the area, together with the analytical and research skills in the public sector organisations, gives a strong foundation for development.
  • Environmental Futures. Supported by the data analytics specialism, there is a concentration of environmental expertise in the area, particularly climate change modelling and agricultural The need for environmental innovation has never been higher, but it can be difficult to commercialise.
  • Smart transport. More traditional logistics firms are attracted to the area by good road links and the However, the role of innovative methods of transport planning in resolving urban and rural transport problems is an important element of developing the GESP strategy as well as to the area’s economic future. Building on the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan work being led by Devon County Council, as well as the direct investment by Exeter City Futures, there is potential for the area to benefit environmentally and economically from growing transport expertise and the role of technology and data analytics.
  • Heath Innovation. The emerging Local Industrial Strategy recognises an emerging health innovation cluster in the The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust and the University of Exeter fund the Joint Office for Clinical Research to facilitate and encourage commercial and non-commercial clinical research and trials. The South West Digital Health Accelerator is based in Exeter to provide support for local digital innovations in the health sector.
  • Other digital futures businesses. Clearly, a key characteristic of innovation is that it is not Linking to the sectors above, we suggest that the Greater Exeter councils should support a wide range of other businesses considering our digital futures and other related science as part of the local innovation ecosystem, whether they be spinoffs from the University of Exeter or other local bodies, new start-ups or inward investment by existing firms.

 

6.12 Evidence indicates that transformational sectors have the potential to make the greatest contribution to increasing productivity and earnings within the GESP We consider that GESP policies should work alongside other partnership based strategies to accelerate the commercialisation of these specialisms, which has, in some respects, so far been slow.

6.13 We suggest that the Greater Exeter councils should avoid putting unnecessary barriers in the way of sectoral Draft policy GESP10 ensures that significant weight is given to the creation or growth of such businesses, encouraging a flexible and supportive approach. This means that where a development proposal will lead to investment in one or more of these sectors, the benefits of that investment will be given extra consideration in the overall planning balance of the proposal. It does not, of course, mean that this is the only consideration since there may be strong reasons why a development proposal should be resisted in a particular location. However, by taking a particularly positive approach to proposals in these sectors, this will ensure that there is not an over-reliance on specific sites or areas for the economic transformation being sought. It will help to support the expansion of these sectors away from the hotspots around Exeter, supporting economies and wages growth in the towns and rural areas of the Greater Exeter area. The imposition of a “gateway” requirement can be considered, which limits the future use of new developments to those within a transformational sector. For example, this may be appropriate where a new building has been permitted in accordance with this policy, where other forms of employment development would not have been allowed.

6.14 In addition, the GESP will allocate strategic sites for the transformational sectors to encourage particular types of development and remove barriers to As identified in draft policy GESP10 we consider about 70 hectares of employment land will be needed.

6.15 The transformational sectors, and their anchor institutions, are likely to be particularly ‘data hungry’ and as such require gigabit-capable connectivity as standard. The Greater Exeter Digital Connectivity Strategy identifies that thriving digital and tech-creative business hubs have benefitted from the early delivery of digital exchanges, which has supported and accelerated growth in these sectors. These are neutral exchange points for digital networks (physical and electronic) to meet, offering low cost internet transit and hosting, shared space for server location and data centres and flexible office space with technical/business support. The emerging Digital Exchange / Transformational Infrastructure Scoping Report is considering where it would be best to accommodate digital exchanges which will be identified in the next version of the GESP.

6.16 The provision of economic development advice and support is a longstanding role of local authorities, and the Greater Exeter councils have been cooperating with a shared Exeter and the Heart of Devon (EHOD) group for many years. The recent Exeter and Heart of Devon Shared Economic Strategy sets out some key actions, reflected in general terms in draft policy GESP10. By ensuring that future reviews of the area’s plans and economic strategies are based on up to date research into what helps and hinders the sectoral growth needed, this continued cooperation can boost the effectiveness of planning policies. A method for encouraging inward investment is via the provision of so-called soft landing packages, where a variety of benefits and incentives are put together, which together provide as easy a ‘landing’ for the firm in the area as possible.

Please login / register to leave a comment.