Working in partnership
The Borough Council recognises the key role it has to play in helping the local economy to recover and grow, both in terms of setting a strategic framework for its approach as well as through the various initiatives it undertaken order to contribute towards the creation of a better economy.
However, our positive impact can only really be maximised by working with partners that also play an equally important role and can offer specialist skills, experience, knowledge and additional resources.
As such, we are committed to working with partners organisations to achieve the actions set out in this strategy. Key individual partners are too numerous to include individually in this chapter, but the following partnerships will be essential in supporting the council to meet the needs of the local economy:
UK Shared Prosperity Fund Partnership (UKSPF): the council is working closely with Central Government and local organisations to deliver its Levelling Up Programme. An important part of the delivery of this programme is the role of a ‘Local Group’ comprising community and business representatives, which provides oversight, advice and support in advancing UKSPF funded initiatives.
Kent and Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP): KMEP is focussed on driving forward economic growth and prosperity in Kent and Medway and is governed by a Board with membership drawn from business, local government and education establishments. KMEP delivers the objectives set out in Kent and Medway’s Growth Plan, and in recent year has supported the borough in securing investment through government initiatives such as the Local Growth Fund and Growing Places Fund.
West Kent Partnership (WKP): is the strategic economic partnership covering the local authority areas of Tonbridge and Malling, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells. The three areas work closely together to leverage the resources available to them in order to deliver more for our local businesses, attract inward investment and promote the local economy.
Over recent years, the partnership has successfully delivered initiatives including:
- the West Kent Enterprise Adviser Network, which had a focus on business-relevant careers advice for schools;
- the West Kent Kick Start Programme, giving young people 6-month work placement opportunities;
- the West Kent Jobs Fairs and West Kent SkillsFest.
There are plenty of exciting new initiatives starting, including the West Kent Business Support Programme, West Kent Rural Grants Scheme and the Invest West Kent initiative to promote the area as a great place to do business.
In addition, there are a number of key partners that the Borough Council works with directly to deliver initiatives or to support work in a specific area of the local economy. A list of these partners, along with some of the key funding streams, is provided in Appendix 1.