16 October 2014
Businesses share their views on Woking's Future
Woking Borough Council held its annual business consultation event, `Working for Woking' today [Wednesday 15 October], at the H.G. Wells Conference and Events Centre. The free breakfast meeting was well attended by over 100 local businesses, large and small, which turned up to find out what the Council is doing for businesses and to have their say on the future of Woking.
Cllr John Kingsbury, Leader of Woking Borough Council, welcomed business representatives to the event and set the agenda for the morning, which was followed by a keynote speech delivered by Ray Morgan, Chief Executive at Woking Borough Council, about Woking's developments and the future plans for the Borough.
The briefing also enabled the Council to consult on its proposals for expenditure for the forthcoming financial year, a statutory obligation of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. Ray Morgan spoke about the challenging financial situation faced by all local authorities, but a positive tone was set in that Woking has been managing this process by increasing its trading revenue to ensure it is less reliant upon shrinking central Government funds.
Also at the event, local business leaders, Gary Wilkes, General Manager at Wood Group Mustang, Matt McNeil, Founder of Sign-Up.to Technologies and Peter Noyce, Head of Professional Services at Menzies Chartered Accountants, spoke about their support for Woking's commercial success and outlined why they like working in Woking.
The event culminated in a questions and answers session. Questions covered a range of topics including the provision of free town centre WIFI, attracting and improving local skills, inward investment and new sectors, combatting anti-social behaviour, improving the appearance of the Town Centre's gateway points around the train station and local procurement policies. When addressing the speakers' panel, the feedback provided by delegates was extremely positive towards the Council's improvements and developments, especially within Woking Town Centre.
Speaking after the event, Ray Morgan, said: "With an ageing population and Government grants reducing each year, the Council is under significant financial pressure to generate enough revenue to pay for local services, and deliver value for money. This is why the Council continues to invest in developments and commercial assets, such as car parks, retail upgrades, office spaces and the public realm improvements - all of which contribute to the Borough's economy and attract new businesses and workers to the area.
"This year we have delivered major economic assets for the Borough, including: the opening of the state-of-the-art Woking Market; completing the first phase of Commercial Way public realm improvements; increasing the town centre's dining out offer from 200 to 1,000 covers and attracting national chains to the town; securing funding for the Victoria Arch enhancements; delivering the second successful Woking Food and Drink Festival which attracted in excess of 60,000 people to the town; the opening of a new 261-space car park at Woking Leisure Centre incorporating all-weather 3G sports pitches on the roof; and upgrading important community facilities such as Horsell Village Hall and St Johns Memorial Hall. The Council's vision is to make Woking the location of choice for people to live, do business and to thrive."
Cllr John Kingsbury, Leader of Woking Borough Council, added: "We have achieved a significant amount this year, but we still have a lot to do. Other towns and cities across the country, and internationally, will not stand still and nor can we. Over the next year, we hope to commence the Victoria Square Bandstand Development and Sheerwater Regeneration schemes, which are vital to the health of our Borough. Both will increase the supply and range of homes and public amenities available, as well as providing more jobs.
"It was extremely encouraging to see so many local business representatives at today's event - all of which took time out of their busy professional days to do so. Importantly, the question and answer session also provided us with useful feedback about local business needs, including the provision of more, high-quality office space which will allow businesses to grow and remain in Woking.''
To find out more about the consultation or the Council's Economic Strategy, please contact Woking Borough Council's Economic Development Team on 01483 743487 or email [email protected]
A the slides from the the Working for Woking briefing can he found here.
ENDS (1330)
