Bexley Council Approves Economic Growth Strategy Focused on Inclusive Development

Bexley Council has officially approved its new Economic Growth Strategy, aiming to foster inclusive and resilient economic development across the borough.

The strategy, presented to the Places Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, outlines a vision for Bexley to be Ready for tomorrow, growing for a better future. It is structured around five key themes: A Great Place to Be, Raising the Profile and Attracting Investment, Health, Wellbeing and Fairness, Green Innovator and Leader, and Future Skills and Employment Opportunities.

Councillor David Leaf, Leader of the Council, highlighted the strategy's focus on directing council investment to support good growth, fostering a thriving inward investment climate, and working transparently with communities. The strategy details ten strategic outcomes, including increasing inward investment, meeting housing targets, building a resilient local economy, improving transport, enhancing digital connectivity, safeguarding community infrastructure, improving health and wellbeing, boosting education and employment, increasing civic participation, and leading in the green economy.

Measuring Success: Ten Strategic Outcomes

The strategy outlines ten specific metrics to measure the success of its aim for inclusive and resilient economic development:

• Inward Investment: Securing one of the largest increases in inward investment in the sub-region, targeting areas best placed for growth, leading to high-quality development, reduced deprivation, boosted housing supply, and thousands of new jobs.
• Housing: Successfully meeting ambitious housing targets, securing a choice of affordable, high-quality dwellings, leading to reduced homelessness and waiting lists, improved housing affordability, and reduced poor conditions and under-occupation.
• Local Economy: Building one of the most resilient and diverse local economies in London with thriving businesses across sectors supported by the latest technology such as AI, resulting in thousands of high-quality jobs, reduced unemployment, raised incomes, and boosted entrepreneurship and productivity.
• Transport: Securing a safe, reliable and affordable transport system with better connectivity, frequency and capacity, leading to improved access to jobs and markets across the region, boosted public transport use, and reduced congestion.
• Digital Connectivity: Delivering a fast, robust digital network that meets the needs of residents and businesses, enabling seamless access to data, content and connections, increasing mobile internet connections and broadband speeds, and encouraging device ownership, knowledge and use.
• Community Infrastructure: Safeguarding and strengthening Bexley's social and community infrastructure, ensuring well-planned provision of essential services through strong partnerships and funding strategies, leading to maintained or improved access to education, healthcare, leisure, cultural and community facilities, reducing gaps, increasing participation, and enhancing wellbeing.
• Health, Wellbeing and Fairness: Local people being among the healthiest, most active and engaged in London, with the benefits of growth shared more fairly. Improved data enabling early interventions, and better engagement with underrepresented groups removing barriers to participation, resulting in lower mortality and morbidity, healthier lifestyles, improved wellbeing, and reduced disparities in education, skills, income and employment.
• Education and Employment: Effectively using one of the highest concentrations of grammar schools in London and one of the best Council skills and employment services to boost performance across the education sector, maintain clear pathways from education to employment, offer strong career support for young people, and help residents to stay in or return to work. Affordable training options and new commercial investment expanding job opportunities, raising qualification levels, and better aligning skills with local employment, leading to more residents in higher-skilled roles.
• Civic Participation: Bexley having among the highest levels of civic participation in the sub region, with residents and workers actively shaping community projects, boosting volunteering, strengthening integration, and fostering pride of place—reflected in better engagement, retention, and wellbeing.
• Green Economy: Bexley maintaining and growing its position as a leader in the green economy, building on its strengths to attract further investment in green technologies and processes. A skilled local workforce, supported by education and retraining, driving sector growth, creating new jobs, and expanding pathways into green industries—from sustainable energy and transport to low-carbon construction.

Ensuring Inclusive Growth

The strategy emphasizes 'inclusive growth' and is guided by principles such as working transparently with communities to deliver good growth. This involves engaging communities early and meaningfully in shaping plans, policies, and projects, supporting local leadership and capacity, ensuring development reflects local character, heritage, and cultural identity, creating opportunities for community-led regeneration, and promoting inclusive access to housing, jobs, public spaces, and cultural experiences.

Furthermore, the strategy focuses on prevention and early intervention to drive prosperity by identifying challenges early and taking proactive steps to prevent issues from escalating. This includes investing in services and programmes that support people before they reach crisis, strengthening data and local intelligence, and promoting inclusive access to health, education, training, employment, and housing to reduce barriers to opportunity.

The Health, Wellbeing and Fairness theme explicitly focuses on creating conditions where people feel supported, valued, and empowered to shape their future, ensuring investment enhances the environment, strengthens communities, and leaves a lasting legacy. It highlights improving access to the right support, whether it's health services, education, employment, or community networks.

Concrete Examples of 'Good Growth'

The council plans to direct investment and resources to support 'good growth,' defined as being inclusive, environmentally responsible, and community-led. Examples of projects that align with this include:

• Greater Erith Regeneration Programme: This programme involves development and public realm improvements in Erith Town Centre, including Erith High Street, Walnut Tree Road, Erith Links, and 68 Pier Road. The expected outcomes are increased investment in the town, increased footfall, improved public safety, additional homes, and jobs. The 'Greater Erith Regeneration Programme' has an expected completion timeline of Q4 2028/29.
• Cultural Strategy: Establishing a dedicated strategy to deliver tangible outcomes, improve wellbeing amongst residents, and promote Bexley's cultural offer.

Raising the Profile and Attracting Investment

Under the 'Raising the Profile and Attracting Investment' theme, the strategy outlines several approaches to encourage businesses to invest in Bexley:

• Strengthening investor confidence: This will be achieved through clear leadership, consistent policy, and a commitment to delivery, particularly for small businesses.
• Creating a supportive planning and regulatory environment: This aims to enable timely and high-quality development.
• Ensuring everyone contributes to infrastructure and placemaking: This will enhance the attractiveness and functionality of key growth areas.
• Building strong relationships with the private sector, neighbouring boroughs, regional bodies and government: This is to identify opportunities, make connections, unlock funding, and provide strategic support.

Green Innovator and Leader Initiatives

The 'Green Innovator and Leader' theme envisions Bexley playing a full part in the 'next industrial revolution' by:

• Leveraging its established waste and recycling sector: This sector is at the forefront of developing new green technologies, including carbon capture and district heating systems, in addition to existing energy from waste facilities.
• Utilizing warehousing and distribution companies: These companies have the opportunity to develop sustainable freight approaches using the adjoining Thames and last-mile delivery technologies.
• Engaging the local construction sector: This sector could lead the way on emerging building materials and techniques.
• Developing new skills in the local workforce: Businesses will need to work proactively with local schools and colleges to ensure accessible pathways to learning. Developing a skilled pool of labour will encourage further investment and innovation, with benefits beyond the sector.

These initiatives aim to reduce carbon emissions and resource consumption, contributing to the borough's environmental goals.

An action plan is currently being developed to detail priority projects, timelines, costs, and funding arrangements. The strategy itself was adopted on 23rd February 2026, and the action plan is still in preparation. The 'Scrutiny Report Adopted Economic Growth Strategy March 2026' document provides further details on the strategy. ¹