Ensuring Croydon is best placed to emerge quickly from the current national recession was the key driver behind the papers that were approved at Croydon’s Cabinet Meeting on Monday. The proposals are designed to reconfigure economic development in the town in preparation for the anticipated recovery.
For five years Croydon has had the benefit of support for businesses from the LEGI budget. However, the incoming coalition Government has had to ask local Government to take its share of the cuts required to tackle the record budget deficit. This has included in-year cuts to the Area Based Grant (which comes from central Government) which is where the funding for the LEGI programme resides.
Councillor Simon Hoar, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, told the Cabinet that the reduction in funding for the LEGI programme, which was in any case due to end in 2011, meant the Council was going to have to focus support in the most important areas. Cllr Hoar said “We want Croydon to be well placed to attract new businesses to move into the town when the economy starts to recover. So we intend to prioritise our efforts to tell a positive story about the advantages of setting up in Croydon. We also want to ensure that the good work done in managing our district centres is able to continue. But sadly, now that the funding stream has ended, some of the other business support services will have to end. This means that it now makes more sense to re-think the role of business support in our town by winding up the CEDC (Croydon Economic Development Company). We will take back under the Council’s wing, some of the commissioning role, whilst continuing to engage business in the marketing of the town through the Economic Development Partnership.”
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