Crawley Observer Column, Wednesday 9th September 2015

Labour regained control of Crawley Borough Council on a platform of homes, jobs and the community. I continue to believe that these areas should be our primary focus of attention, at a time when resources are limited it is vital that we focus on those things which stand to offer the greatest positive impact upon residents’ lives.

That is certainly true when it comes to employment, if you can ensure residents have access to decent jobs then so many other things fall into place. As a town we have historically been blessed with low unemployment but we can’t allow ourselves to fall into the trap of assuming that that this will always be the case.

Retail is still the single largest employment sector for Crawley residents but the market is changing fast and much of the town’s traditional low skill employment is undergoing automation.

Meanwhile too many of the good jobs go to those commuting into Crawley on a daily basis. It’s great that as a town we contribute so much to the UK’s economy, but when the gap between the average wage paid out by Crawley employers and the average wage taken home by Crawley residents is £5,000 things have gone too far.

When we took control of the council we established dedicated team to focus on economic development and reconfigured senior management to create a specific Head of Service post focusing on these challenges.

Two separate streams of work are now in train. The first is stabilising the town’s current sources of employment, most visibly in the town centre with next year’s Queens Square facelift and complementary efforts around events, marketing, planning and business liaison bringing new employment into the town centre and people back in the shops.

The second stream involves working to build the employment market of Crawley’s future: creating the council’s first ever skills development strategy, working to attract employers with better career opportunities for local residents and building the infrastructure we need to ensure these industries flourish.

Labour has a bright vision for Crawley’s future and with your help it can become a reality.