Economic Development Strategy

Economic Development Strategy

West Berkshire's local economy has long been strong and resilient with a high number of businesses representing a diverse range of industries, a well-qualified workforce and an excellent natural environment. However, like in other areas, West Berkshire has faced various challenges to local economic recovery and renewal following the COVID-19 pandemic. We originally drafted an Economic Development Strategy in 2019, which was adopted in 2020. However, in response to the pandemic we developed a refreshed version of the strategy in 2021, which sets out a revised set of actions.

This means there are now two documents relating to our plans to support the economy of West Berkshire:

• Economic Development Strategy Refresh (2021) [10MB] - this is our up-to-date working strategy and is accompanied by a high level Delivery Plan [5MB] which sets out short, medium, and long-term actions. 
• Economic Development Strategy (2020) [11MB] - this is the original strategy drafted in 2019 and adopted in 2020. It set out our relative position of strength and sought to ensure that more local people were able to take advantage of the opportunities our district has to offer.

Annual Review

We have conducted an annual review into the progress that has been made against the actions and priorities in the Economic Development Strategy Refresh, in the year between when it was published in 2021 until July 2022. We will continue to publish these annual reviews throughout the duration of the strategy period.

Economic Development Strategy Refresh - annual review 2022 [8MB]

For both the 2020 Strategy and the 2021 Refresh, working to the 2036 West Berkshire Vision, the Council Strategy theme of 'open for business' and aligning with Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) strategies, we developed actions in the four areas seen to have the most relevance locally. These are:

1. People - good jobs and greater earning power for all in West Berkshire
2. Places - creating prosperous communities across West Berkshire
3. Infrastructure - future-proofing West Berkshire's infrastructure
4. Business Environment - making West Berkshire the best place to start a grow a business

In the coming months and years, as the lasting effects of the pandemic become clearer, we intend to work with our partners, including businesses, the Thames Valley Berkshire LEP and other stakeholders to restore what we have lost, build on what we have gained and to galvanise West Berkshire's position as a great place to live, work and do business.