The following details are the contribution to the debate about the Wyre Council business plan 2013/14 – 2015/16 from the Labour Councillor Emma Anderton:
“Whilst I support the Business plan as a whole I’d just like to comment on one of the themes:
Pride in our Places > We will adopt a new local plan to deliver economic growth, housing and employment.
I think this Council has missed a real opportunity to take a strategic view in terms of employment and job retention within Wyre.
The Council’s Core Strategy document highlights the Norcross site as an ‘employment hub...continuing to employ significant numbers (approx 3000)’
As we have seen the DWP’s announcement in 2012 to pull out of the Norcross site means the Core Strategy is out of date before it has even been adopted and the Conservative members and Officers have made little attempt to fight to retain this major employer within our borough.
Civil Service jobs at the Norcross site are reasonably well paid, many are highly skilled and there are good prospects for career progression.
A mere 200 DWP jobs and 400 Ministry of Defence jobs will remain.
Following the announcement of the DWP retreat, the Council could have been more proactive in bringing other civil service jobs to the area making use of the existing office space and IT infrastructure already in place. There was talk of the MOD relocating jobs to Wyre from London and Manchester. An opportunity missed.
The site owners Telereal Trillium have published draft proposals for the site in the post DWP era – houses, a pub and another food retail outlet (half the size of the Morrison’s store just a stone’s throw away). In other words; low skilled, minimum wage jobs with little chance of career advancement.
The DWP has designated Ryscar House on Faraday Way as a centre for the new benefit Universal Credit. It was announced in the Guardian newspaper only yesterday, that the initial rollout of UC will be rely on clerical processing rather than IT based. There is a real potential that extra processing jobs will be needed to administer this benefit. Norcross could have been the ideal place to house these extra workers, bringing new civil service jobs to the Fylde Coast. However once the bulldozers move in – as early as August - this will be the final nail in the coffin.
The Labour Group had wanted to bring a Notice of Motion before this Council requesting that the Norcross site be designated an employment zone – as already indicated in the Core Strategy plan for Thornton but unfortunately the Chief Executive deemed this would be trying to predetermine a future planning application. Perhaps this Council is more interested in the new homes bonus, the new plans for the site would bring. Unfortunately this short term fix to Wyre’s finances would in no way compensate for the loss of £500,000 per year business rates that the DWP having been paying.
So another food retail outlet is on the horizon, first Booths, then Sainsbury’s, who next I wonder? This Council certainly knows how to give food shoppers choice!
The Fleetwood Weekly News this week featured an article where Peter Gibson and Eric Ollerenshaw have both “vowed to fight for local jobs...and not see them disappearing”. What a shame this fight didn’t stretch to the civil service jobs on the Norcross site.
The youth of Wyre needn’t worry about their future employment prospects, this Council has ensured there will always be work for them shelf stacking or on the checkout!
In conclusion, I’d like to implore the Council leadership & officers – if they are serious about employment in Wyre, to take what might be the last opportunity, to fight for local jobs and to fight to retain the Norcross site as an employment hub for civil service jobs."
The debate took place on Thursday 7th March 2013. The majority grouping on the Wyre Council (Conservatives) voted down the proposal to have the Norcross site designated as “employment”. If you live in Wyre you may wish to ask your Councillor which way they voted, and why.
