Hertfordshire Futures has published the initial key findings following a six-month engagement campaign to help inform and shape a new Economic Strategy that places residents, businesses and communities at the heart of growth plans.

Over the past six months (July – December), Hertfordshire Futures took part in a range of business forums, workshops and briefings in order to seek the views of a diverse range of stakeholders from across health, business, education, government, the voluntary sector as well as local and neighbouring authorities.

Using both in-person and digital forms of engagement as well as public surveys, Hertfordshire Futures has gathered valuable insights to infom the development of the Economic Strategy. This engagement has drawn out a number of important areas for wider consideration including:

• Economic Participation & Health: Rising economic inactivity due to ill health is a major concern.
• Employment Sites & Investment: Limited stock of investor-ready sites hampers inward investment.
• London’s Property Market: Changes in London’s commercial property market impact Hertfordshire’s growth sectors.
• Net Zero Transition: Urgent need for sustainable growth and opportunities in the net zero transition.
• Dialogue with Developers: Effective management of developer interest is crucial for attracting private sector investment.
• Housing & Economic Growth: High living costs in Hertfordshire is affecting labour supply; delivering housing well is essential.
• Digital Connectivity: Enhancing digital solutions and skills is vital for future economic growth.
• Regional Collaboration: Ongoing dialogue with neighbouring regions is important as clusters and supply chains work across wider geographies and this footprint needs to be recognised.

Around 400 young people (aged 16-24) submitted responses to a survey asking them about their plans to live and work in the county and challenges they face in planning their future. Among those still in education, only 10% planned to live and work in Hertfordshire in the future. This was less than the proportion that intended to live locally but work elsewhere (13%). It was much lower than the proportion that intended to both live and work outside the county (34%). About 66% of the survey respondents identified ‘where to find suitable job opportunities’ as a challenge facing Hertfordshire’s young people. Some 63% flagged the issues surrounding ‘lower salaries and higher living costs’.

Of the businesses surveyed, 80% were optimistic about growth prospects over the next two years, with ‘continued growth of sectors’ identified as the number one priority for driving innovation, with 30% stating poor digital connectivity was holding back the growth of their company.

The engagement also coincided with the first six months of the new Government being in power. The strategy must also reflect both the wider policy positions, including Hertfordshire's response to the Industrial Strategy Green Paper as well as the results of the engagement process. 

It has also highlighted that the economic strategy will need to be broader in scope than previous economic plans to take into account the inter-related themes of inclusion, sustainability and digital. These themes will form the basis of a series of webinars early in 2025 and potentially inform local workstreams in response. 

Lucy Gravatt, Director of Partnerships and Communications, Hertfordshire Futures, said: "We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who participated in these face-to-face and virtual discussions. Your views are really important to us and will feed into the final report which will go out for consultation in Spring 2025.

"We will be kickstarting 2025 with a series of public debates on the issues that you have told us really matter - from tackling economic inactivity to greener growth. I hope you will join us for these conversations and ensure your voices continue to be heard.”

Download the Economic Summary Engagement Report

Find out more about the webinars and how you can get involved. Read more