Council shake-up to make Sheffield soar
The new department for City Growth is a 350-strong organisation aiming to foster more firms paying business rates, employing more people living in more homes and paying more council tax.
After a months-long reorganisation it now encompasses the business, planning, transport and property departments which are all “pulling in the same direction,” according to boss Ed Highfield.
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Hide AdIt comes as the Government plans to axe a council grant worth £200m-a-year in 2020.
Mr Highfield said it meant growth was now vital.
He added: “There’s no getting away from the fact that the Revenue Support Grant will never come back. But business rates alone will not offset austerity, we need a growing economy.
“Now we are pro-business and pro-growth, with everyone pulling in the same direction.”
Approving plans for Boeing’s first factory in Europe in five weeks showed they meant business, he added.
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Hide AdOffice take-up in the city centre was “incredibly strong” and the sale of 3 St Paul’s, a new block the council had underwritten, was a boost. Meanwhile the authority was making a success of big projects including the Olympic Legacy Park and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, with Rotherham.
The £22.5m redevelopment of the Ski Village into an extreme sports centre would be the “jewel in the crown of the Outdoor City” and the Channel 4 bid “was credible,” he added.
But he acknowledged that growth “came with consequences” and that not everyone agreed with major planning applications. Business and housing developments could have a major impact on traffic and air quality. But tackling them needed cash - which the council now had to find.
He added: “We need an economy that produces more and costs less. I think there’s a confidence and momentum in Sheffield at the moment. I want to see it continue.”