East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy 2005/06

East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy Annual Monitoring Report 2005/06
Data Analysis
4.71 The number of new VAT registration in the East
Midlands fell marginally from 12,205 in 2004 to
12,015 in 2005. However the number of new start
ups stayed the same in very rural areas, leading to a
slight increase in the proportion of new start ups in
these areas from 21.5% in 2004 to 21.8% in 2005.
4.72 The net change figure for 2005 has been
included following the suggestion made in the
2004/5 monitoring report. It measures the net gain
or loss in the stock of registered enterprises - equal to
registrations less de-registrations.There was no gain
or a small loss in only four local authority areas, all
but one of which were in the large urban category. In
all other local authority areas there was a net gain in
enterprises. New start ups in rural areas would
appear to be on a par with those in urban areas.
4.73 The limitation of the data used is that very
small firms or those exempt from VAT are not
included in the VAT registration statistics.
4.74 The Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) data shows
that there was a 3 per cent growth in employment in
the East Midlands from 2004 to 2005. The largest
percentage change over this period was in the more
rural areas of the region. Some care needs to be
taken when interpreting the ABI data as it has
experienced classification and accuracy problems in
the past, and is subject to future data revision.
Policy Commentary
4.75 Despite the continuing decline in the numbers
employed in the Region’s primary industries, there is
evidence to suggest that policies geared towards the
diversification and development of the rural
economy are succeeding. It is noteworthy that for the
third consecutive year, more than 42% of new
business start-ups occurred in district council areas
defined as the most rural (i.e. R50 and R80).
4.76 Overall from 2004 to 2005 the East Midlands
saw a 3% increase in the number of jobs (compared
with a 2.1% increase from 2003 to 2004).The largest
increase was in rural (R50) areas.The map shows that
some rural areas have seen a decline in the number
of jobs, but overall, rural areas appear to be
performing as well as large urban areas.
4.77 Leicestershire County Council, through
the Leicestershire Rural Partnership,
provides grant schemes to
encourage and support
diversification in rural
areas.These include
the New Life for
Redundant
Buildings Initiative,
the Rural Micro
Business Grant
and the Rural
Retail
Development
Scheme. The
Farmers
Development Grant,
funded by emda
through the
Leicestershire Economic
Partnership (LSEP), is
administered by the County Council
to help farm-based diversification.
Policy 25: Regional Priorities for Tourism
Development Plans, Local Development
Frameworks, tourism strategies and SSP
Partnerships should seek to identify areas of
potential for tourism growth which maximises
economic benefit whilst minimising adverse
impact on the environment and local amenity
Targets:
• 15,000 new jobs in tourism by 2008
• Visitor spending in region to increase by 2% by
2010
• Tourism to contribute 4.5% of region’s GDP by 2010
Indicators:
• Number of new of jobs in tourist related activities
• Visitor spending in region
• Number of overnight stays in region
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