DONV 058 - Economic Development Needs Assessment

Shropshire Council will commission an Economic Development Needs Assessment (EDNA 2026) for the County, to help deliver sustainable economic growth, through the 20 years from 2026 to 2046.

EDNA 2026 will inform Shropshire’s new Local Plan to 2046 by helping to direct the preparation and examination of the Local Plan Economic Vision, Strategy, strategic policies and most importantly, the employment land requirement by identifying and meeting Shropshire’s economic needs to 2046.

EDNA 2026 will also inform a revision of the Shropshire Economic Growth Strategy by providing evidence of Shropshire’s investment and growth potential over the next 5-10 years, to align these two key strategies.

EDNA 2026 will:

•Define the extent of Shropshire’s functional economic market area;

•provide a comprehensive summary of Shropshire’s social and economic characteristics to identify opportunities and challenges for delivering sustainable economic growth in the County;

•provide a comprehensive summary of the structure and performance of Shropshire’s local economy to identify opportunities, challenges and barriers to delivering sustainable economic growth and investment including infrastructure requirements that may influence our future growth potential;

•provide a comprehensive overview of Shropshire’s commercial land, development and property market to consider current opportunities and the challenges and prospects in the medium term to 2036 and in the longer term to 2046, and further to 2050;

•summarise the key opportunities and challenges that may influence our growth potential immediately, in the medium term to 2036 and in the longer-term to 2046 and to 2050 to help focus investment into areas of opportunity. This will consider different sources of information including stakeholder engagement with our business community and those who service their needs for business support and investment advice;

As a minimum requirement and as an early output for the study, model labour demand from the Baseline Economic Forecast and labour supply from the Shropshire Standard Method Local Housing Need:

•this should identify minimum and maximum scales of jobs growth which may be supported by the local economy and by the expected supply of labour from Shropshire’s Standard Method Local Housing Need;

•the Council seeks an early output and advice on the scope for our economic aspirations from the baseline jobs growth forecast and the forecast supply of labour from Standard Method Local Housing Need from early modelling of these key demand and supply scenarios;

•Further to this, model at least one additional Labour Demand Scenario to define Shropshire’s aspirations for delivering sustainable economic growth and investment. Model at least one additional Labour Supply Scenario to enable the Council to project subsequent changes to the employment land requirement from adjustments to either our Standard Method Local Housing Need, our economic aspirations or from modifications to our housing requirement; •Identify and describe the range of reasonable alternatives for the employment land requirement for Shropshire for the period 2026 to 2046 to inform the preparation of the Local Plan;

•identify structural, economic and spatial planning considerations that will influence opportunities and challenges for delivering sustainable economic growth and investment in Shropshire from 2026 to 2046. This will highlight mechanisms to address these matters and stakeholders who may contribute to their success;

•guide the Council towards an appropriate Economic Vision and Strategy for the Local Plan to deliver sustainable economic growth and investment which will improve Shropshire’s:

labour supply, employment opportunities, productivity and prosperity;

economic structure, performance, investment and growth; and

economic sustainability and the competitiveness of the local economy; and

guide the Council on appropriate measurable economic outcomes for the Plan Vision.

•Further guide the Council in its corporate decision making to deliver strategic investment, employment and investment. This may include options which direct the Council towards strategic engagement with partners and investors particularly for infrastructure provision.

The Council wish to commission this Study during Financial Q2 of 2026-27 and receive the Draft Final Report during Financial Q4 of 2026-27.

The Council recognise that the new plan making process places significant pressures on all partners involved in plan making. The Council will consider tender submissions that extend beyond the timeframe indicated here and the detailed programme for the Study, and the key milestones, will be agreed with the appointed consultant when the Study is commissioned.