Image
The plan is built around three priorities: supporting people, championing businesses, and making North Somerset an attractive place to live and work. Key actions include improving skills and wellbeing, reducing barriers to employment, supporting businesses from start-ups to established enterprises, and encouraging sustainable development.
To connect residents with opportunities, the council will work with employers, educators, and the Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector to boost training and help disadvantaged groups into work. At the same time, investment in infrastructure, housing, transport, energy, and digital connectivity will create the conditions for growth, supported by climate resilience projects such as flood defences.
Revitalising town centres through culture, community, and business activity is also central to the plan, ensuring North Somerset’s communities remain vibrant, resilient, and attractive to both residents and employers.
North Somerset’s plan sets out a path from reducing economic inactivity and improving access to jobs, funding, and infrastructure in the next two years, to becoming a hub for innovation with stronger businesses and better retention of young talent within five. By 2035, it aims for a diverse, high-wage economy with reduced inequality, higher productivity, and national recognition for sustainability and innovation. The 10-year vision also includes cutting inactivity from 22% to 12%, matching national productivity levels, eliminating deprivation, and improving well-being.
Cllr Mark Canniford, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Places and Service Transformation, said: "By investing in our people, supporting local businesses, and building the infrastructure we need for the future, we’re laying the foundations for a stronger, fairer, and more sustainable local economy. This is an ambitious vision for the next ten years, but it is one that reflects the talent, resilience, and potential of our communities.”
Find the plan here: North Somerset Economic Growth Plan 2025 to 2035