Barnet Council has approved the Economic Development Framework 2025-2030, a plan designed to shape the borough's economic future over the next five years. The framework aims to address economic needs, fulfill ambitions, and tackle poverty and inequality, which have worsened due to the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.
The framework updates the pre-pandemic Growth Strategy 2020, focusing on Barnet's economic needs and ambitions while retaining regeneration and new housing supply elements. Councillor Barry Rawlings, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Strategic Partnerships, Economy, and Effective Council, authored the report.
The framework has six themes:
- Securing investment to benefit all
- Supporting priority sectors to grow
- Building a workforce to succeed
- Creating growing places to thrive
- Boosting the green economy to work towards net zero
- Growth for everyone
The plan acknowledges the need to connect economic growth with local opportunities to create a more inclusive economy. The council aims to capitalise on Barnet's success as a destination for public and private investment to support businesses, create great places, contribute to net zero goals, enable communities to flourish, and unlock new training and employment opportunities.
The framework's delivery will be based on four key principles:
- Working as one council to join up business and employment-related services.
- Working in partnership with residents, businesses and charities.
- Working at scale to attract public and private investment.
- Working for London and the UK to realize Barnet's economic potential.
A new economic working group (EWG) will monitor the framework's progress and report to the 'Our Places' Board and the Growth Strategy Board. The EWG will meet monthly and ensure the framework translates into visible delivery, demonstrating how success will be achieved. Each theme's objectives maps onto the framework's action plan, which provides further detail on how the framework translates into visible delivery. The Economic Development Framework report states that the action plan is how success will be achieved.
