40 HOTSPOTS
Skills are a big issue for Tom Grattan, managing director of brand and digital consultancy EXP based at Fraser House.
He says: “For a city that is heavy on digital we suffer from Manchester being on our doorstep.
“Digital tends to be a younger person’s profession and Manchester has the nightlife and the big city offer that many people want as part of their lifestyle.
“Regardless of the number of agencies and employers that are here we are always up against Manchester when it comes to fresh talent. We do find that people come back once they are ready to settle and they’ve ‘grown up’.
Lancaster Town Hall Continued from Page 39
“However, for us Eden Project is just the anchor for all the change in the area. It’s not just about Eden. Within Morecambe itself there is a massive wider opportunity and if we just concentrate on Eden, we will have failed.
“It is about everything it brings with it. There’s the education programme and the skills agenda. And there is also the opportunity to regenerate the rest of Morecambe town centre.
“We have the Frontierland site in the town, and we have been out to procurement to identify a preferred development partner.
“We have just started on a regeneration strategy for the rest of the town centre as well.
“There is a huge opportunity within Morecambe but it is vital that the rest of the district benefits from it as well as Lancashire as a whole. We are really focusing on things such as supply chain in the area.”
He also reels off a number of other regeneration projects on the drawing board, including a long-standing desire to develop Lancaster’s Canal Quarter site.
That area next to the city centre is “a key focus for the city council in terms of bringing that area forward over the next five years or so,” Jonathan says.
The aim is to create a mixed-use development of office accommodation, housing and facilities like Fraser House, a successful digital and tech hub and co-working space on the White Cross Business Park.
Alastair Richards, vice-president Lancaster and Morecambe Chamber of Commerce, talks of “exciting times”. He believes Morecambe’s time to shine has come.
He says: “For many years the patch has been dominated by Lancaster and what we are seeing at the moment is a rebalancing with some big and exciting projects taking place on the other side of the river.
“What we have got to hope is that other businesses follow on behind and that we see a continued investment boom on the back of these projects that are coming through.”
Alistair believes for that to happen and for growth to occur there has to be local authority support.
Laura Barnfield is partner at law firm Oglethorpe Sturton & Gillibrand. She describes the local commercial property market as busy and adds:
PANEL: Ged Henderson (Chair) Laura Barnfield, Oglethorpe Sturton & Gillibrand
Danny Braithwaite, Lancaster and Morecambe College Andrew Darnell, Peel Ports Group Tom Grattan, EXP Phil Hall, Peel Ports Group
Andrew Kane, Stena Line Jody Lauder, Richard P Taylor
Jonathan Noad, Lancaster City Council Owain Roberts, Northern Rail Alastair Richards, Lancaster and Morecambe Chamber of Commerce
“People are more interested in Morecambe than they maybe have been before Eden.”
She says the district benefits from its mix of coast, city and countryside that complement each other and make it attractive from a lifestyle perspective.
Jody Lauder, director at commercial property experts Richard P Taylor, agrees that the market is “buoyant”. He says: “The whole district is coming up,” but adds: “There is a complete shortage of available employment space within Lancaster and Morecambe.”
There are moves to improve that situation that he welcomes. The city and county council announced in late April that they were working up plans for a 59-acre industrial scheme in Heysham.
A county council spokesman said: “We are working with Lancaster on a proposed joint scheme for the Heysham Gateway site.
“This involves proposals to bring forward development opportunities on land located to the north west and south east of Imperial Road, Heysham, for logistics, warehousing and light industrial development.”
“But that’s at a more senior level, with higher salaries. It has been an issue for some time. The eco-system has been knocked a bit by agencies here that have been acquired and moved out.”
Danny Braithwaite, from Lancaster and Morecambe College, sees the opportunity that inward investment brings to the skills agenda and believes it is vital that it is seized.
He says: “One of the biggest challenges that we face is head count, people in the area to fulfil the roles that all of these fantastic opportunities are presenting.
“Some of that is about raising aspirations, some is about having a really good curriculum offer that reflects what businesses need and what the local community needs.”
He adds: “There is so much potential and opportunity and you can see there is momentum and an actual direction of travel.
“The momentum is coming from a real passion among businesses in this local area to make things happen.
“It’s incumbent on all of use to play our part in this and skills are front and centre when it comes to raising aspirations, getting people into work and getting them to see they can access these opportunities.”
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