Cheshire East Council says plan will grow economy by £15 billion

Cheshire East Council is to consult on its draft economic strategy, which outlines plans to grow the local economy to deliver £15 billion per year and improve the quality of the local area.

The strategy, considered by cabinet on July 9, uses a strong evidence base and has been developed in partnership with representatives from the private sector.

Cheshire East is one of the most successful economies in the UK.

However, growth in productivity, or output per hour worked, in Britain generally is lagging behind most leading Western economies and has not yet recovered to its 2007 level – and we have started to see that in Cheshire East.

The economic strategy is being developed to show how future growth will be managed responsibly and sustainably to support the council’s ambitions and anticipated arrival of HS2 – but acknowledges that the proposals outlined will require external funding for the full opportunities to be realised.

Cllr Nick Mannion, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for environment and regeneration, said: “This strategy sets out the council’s economic priorities and will help us to have future conversations around funding them.

“We now want to test the strategy through a consultation, so that the local community can tell us what they think.”

The main priorities in the strategy include improving the quality of our town centres, the variety of available housing, connectivity options, skills levels and business development.

The consultation process will take place over the summer.