1. Wealden Parish Conference Wealden Parish Conference Supporting business in Wealden Cllr Roy Galley 11 th September

2. Wealden DC through its current Corporate Plan aims: “to enhance the rural character of the district whilst also improving the economic vitality of our market towns and maintaining the well-being of the community”. The Adopted Core Strategy states that the Council ‘will ensure the long term viability of the five principal towns and will maintain and where appropriate enhance through the encouragement of growth, the effective network of villages that will continue to support the day to day needs of our rural communities’. One Voice

3. Improving the road and rail infrastructure in East Sussex...South Wealden and Eastbourne transport studies (SWETS); Movement and Access study Hailsham/Hellingly (MASHH)- Uckfield –Town Centre improvements, infrastructure WDC are bidding for funds to improve the infrastructure around the key growth sites particularly along the A22 corridor (EZ bid in partnership with EBC) Infrastructure

4. “Fast speed broadband is essential to our economic prosperity and important to our residents' well-being.” Connectivity

5. Broadband ESCC have signed a contract with BT to bring faster broadband speeds to homes and businesses in East Sussex. ESCC secured £10.64 million of Government funding last year which was matched by £15 million from ESCC’s capital programme. The Go e-sussex campaign has received over 12,000 registrations from homes and businesses. Please continue to encourage residents and businesses to sign up Mobile Telephony Mobile phone cold spots- 42% of East Sussex businesses responded to a recent SELEP survey and key cold spots in Wealden are Crowborough and surrounding area; A259 Coast Road; A27 Polegate-Lewes; Heathfield and surrounding area SELEP are to use the results to work with mobile providers to investigate ways of resolving the issues identified. Connectivity

6. “WDC agrees that we need to collectively create the right environment to attract new businesses, retain existing ones and foster enterprise, job creation and innovation” Marketing for Business

7. Wealden DC supports the ‘Locate East Sussex’ (LES) service which is a three year contract with the aim to attract new business investment in the county A new website is soon to be launched marketing East Sussex as the destination to do business; WDC also supports business activity through the Wealden Business Focus newsletter and Wealden Business Breakfasts that we deliver in partnership with the FSB Marketing for Business

8. Growth Opportunities

9. The A22 Growth Corridor The A22 Growth Corridor

10. Destinations- Landscapes and Business Opportunities

11. Marketing for Tourism £261m of income over 4,600 jobs Tourism is a key economic driver for Wealden; It brings £261m of income to the District each year and supports over 4,600 jobs – 10% of jobs; New for 2014 will be an Wealden Attractions guide promoting Wealden’s tourism businesses & the launch of the ‘We Do’ campaign We alden Do Coast & Countryside And you can too! The famous Seven Sisters forms part of the chalk cliffs on the Sussex Heritage Coast, one of Britain’s finest unspoilt coastlines…… www.enjoysussex.info www.enjoysussex.info In addition we are working with partners such as the High Weald on developing a 2014 Walking Festival; the 1066 Partnership to promote Wealden’s historic coast, and SDNP on promoting walking, cycling & horse-riding initiatives (tourists bring £464m to the Park)

12. Town promotion We are also supporting Hailsham Town Team to promote the town through new marketing initiatives. This is to be extended to other Wealden towns in the next few months Farmers Markets This year we helped support the Love Your Local Market campaign and we are we working with the Farmers Market coordinators to help them develop their ideas around new marketing material. Marketing for Tourism

13. ‘Partnership Management Plan’ South Downs National Park – ‘Partnership Management Plan’ Supporting the National Park Authority in their management and promotion of the Park – ‘Sense of Place Toolkit’ – ‘Sense of Place Toolkit’ - a new marketing tool for businesses in SDNP; High Weald AONB and SDNP – ‘Our Land’ – ‘Our Land’ a website that promotes sustainable rural tourism businesses that provide high quality experiences, promoting their local area and demonstrating how they help protect the environment and contribute to their local economy. East Sussex County Council Cultural Tourism Bid - Supporting the County wide bid to the Arts Council England and Visit England in promoting East Sussex as a cultural destination and develop the arts and culture to drive growth in the visitor economy. Marketing Coastal, Urban and Rural Development

14. Funding Support and Opportunities Over the past 3 years rural Wealden businesses have secured c£750,000 from the WARR partnership. This programme has now ended but it is hoped that a new rural programme will be launched in 2015 Businesses with high growth potential along the A21 corridor have access to £5.5m pot of funding which East Sussex and West Kent have secured. The Escalate programme will lead to job creation and business expansion ESCC – Rural Growth and Employment Fund (RuGEF) and business grants (adminstered by Locate on behalf of ESCC) are available to support job creation and business growth. Available November WDC will be hosting a Planning and Access to Finance Business workshop later this year (date tbc)