Economic

Overview

The Economic capital relates to the long-term viability of our organisation and the Strategic Sites we retain and operate.

Good quality employment

Driving prosperity for us means improving the welfare of all people with whom we interact. We are committed to generating good quality, long-term jobs for people living in our local areas, providing real opportunities to increase skills and stability. Our supply chain is critical to achieve this.

Target

2025 target: 

• All contractors directly employed by Urban&Civic and housebuilders employed under licence paid the Real Living Wage as contracted in accordance with Urban&Civic’s  Ethical Labour Policy.

Performance

The procurement of contractors whose offices are within 40 miles of the site again proved to be a challenging target for U&C in 2022/23. Only three of our seven strategic sites in delivery – Alconbury, Rugby and Wintringham - exceeded the target with Waterbeach coming close. We recognise that this is mainly because these sites benefit from there being a specialist supply chain in place locally whereas other sites won’t have such contractors in close proximity.

Graph recording the percentage of contractors directly employed by Urban&Civic, employed in accordance with our Ethical Labour Policy and making positive declarations to paying the Real Living Wage.

Economic inclusion

In line with “shared value” approaches, we intend to actively incorporate local businesses into the Urban&Civic family by procuring businesses near to our sites. We have taken this step for many years and are keen to formalise it in our Framework, aware of the many advantages it brings about. Local procurement can reduce transport related carbon emissions and improve the health and wellbeing of those employed by nearby suppliers thanks to shorter commuting times. It is also highly beneficial when we consider the long-term economic impacts of our development sites in the context of the location where they exist.

Target

2025 target: 

• At least 80% of the total value of direct contracts was placed with principal contractors whose offices are within 40 miles of the site.

Performance

The procurement of contractors whose offices are within 40 miles of the site again proved to be a challenging target for U&C in 2022/23. Only three of our seven strategic sites in delivery – Alconbury, Rugby and Wintringham - exceeded the target with Waterbeach coming close. We recognise that this is mainly because these sites benefit from there being a specialist supply chain in place locally whereas other sites won’t have such contractors in close proximity.  

Where the distance requirement of this target was broadened from 25 to 40 miles compared to 2021/22, the desired increase in performance wasn’t quite met with the average score decreasing by 3%.

Graph showing the percentage of the total value of direct contracts placed with principal contractors whose offices are within 40 miles of the site

Promotion of local economic growth

Nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship, both within our business and when working in the communities we are developing, is essential for us to play our part in promoting local economic growth. It is people’s ideas  that fuel innovation, so fostering a culture of creativity, as well as sharing information, celebrating innovative solutions and highlighting lessons learnt, is key.  

We have defined six initiatives to help our sites in meeting our 2025 target, including providing pop-up/permanent space, contracts and opportunities, business awards/sponsorship, seminars and workshops, being part of local business groups and forums, and marketing and promotional support.  

Target

2025 target: 

• All strategic land sites in delivery actively promote local businesses and start-ups to help cultivate entrepreneurship and economic growth, and annually publish initiatives together with key learnings.

Performance

In 2022/23, a further category of ‘Seminars and Workshops’ was included for all sites to contribute to actively promote local businesses and start-ups.  Five of the seven sites assessed had met the target  but the Wellcome Genome Campus at Hinxton haven’t yet begun these initiatives and Priors Hall hadn’t meet the ‘Seminars and Workshops’ requirement for the year, These will be planned for 2023/24 and all sites are expected to achieve the 2025 target ahead of time.

Graph showing the sites which collectively utilise Urban&Civic’s initiatives to actively promote local businesses and start-ups to help cultivate local entrepreneurship and economic growth.