Hartlepool to be among worst hit areas by pandemic fallout - leaders look for 'quick wins' to boost jobs and business
It comes as Hartlepool Borough Council Finance and Policy Committee welcomed the preparation of a Covid-19 Recovery and Renewal Plan to guide the work of the authority and partner organisations in the coming years.
Council chief executive Gill Alexander noted Hartlepool came into the period from a position of a ‘number of strengths’ including high-performing and strong services, and a capital plan in place.
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Hide AdHowever she warned Covid-19 is an emergency ‘like no other’ and it will have widespread impacts which will be worse in some areas, such as the North East.
She said: “Covid has had a profound impact socially and economically on the country, where we are facing a recession and what we do know is some geographical areas will be harder hit by the impact of Covid.
“Particularly those areas which were already experiencing significant challenges as a result of inequalities in relation to health, the economy and in terms of educational outcomes.
“Hartlepool is one of those areas, as is the North East as a whole, that will be more severely hit by the impact of Covid than other areas of the country.
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Hide Ad“This is an emergency like no other, it’s an emergency that will be far reaching, which will create high levels of uncertainty, which will probably mean that we come out of the crisis with new models of service delivery, it’s a recovery that we’re in for the long haul.”
Council bosses noted long, medium and short-term objectives need to be set to help the recovery of the town, and noted the importance of positive action over the next six months as services are restarted, some in different ways.
Ms Alexander added: “In the first six months we recognise that we will need as a council to start looking at ways in which we can invest in some early quick wins.
“But we also recognise that the funding and the fiscal stimulus it will take to help accelerate recovery and renewal of the town will be way beyond the resources available to the council and partners and will require significant economic investment.”
It comes as council leader Cllr Shane Moore said the pandemic has brought into sharp focus the inadequacies of the current local government funding system and the need for urgent reform.
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Hide AdHe said: “A new system for funding local services needs to recognise that for many councils, including Hartlepool, that Government funding will continue to be critical as council tax income is not sufficient to fund local services without creating a postcode lottery for service provision.”
Two immediate opportunities have been identified in the plan to use existing council funds to support businesses and invest in the voluntary and community sector.
The council has earmarked £500,000 for a business investment grant scheme to help organisations adapt to changing economic circumstances and re-animate key sectors, including culture, tourism and the visitor economy.
Council chiefs are also proposing to bring together a range of funding streams earmarked to tackle poverty and hardship into a single ‘community fund’ of £225,000.
Of this £200,000 will be allocated to supporting community-led initiatives aimed at tackling poverty and hardship and £25,000 towards providing new out-of-school opportunities for vulnerable children and young people.