As ever it's a busy time for local government – ‘twas ever thus' I hear fellow chief executives say.
We're all dealing with the perennial challenges. SEND, pressures on Children's & Adults' budgets, inflation impacting our supply chain – for some places these pressures have become unsustainable. Then there is the quest for fair and sustainable funding for all councils, and it really is starting to feel like a ‘quest' isn't it?
In Northumberland, recent, positive developments have made me reflect even more on the need to ‘talk-up' the opportunities…to re-emphasise with government what our sector can do not just locally but together for the whole country.
And, if that's not enough, some colleagues are working through the complexities and practical challenges of local government re-organisation.
In short, there's plenty for us to be talking to government about. Chief executives are, making their voices heard on these issues – through networks, the trade press and in direct engagement. And rightly so.
Yet, whilst we seek solutions to the most pressing problems we face as a sector, I believe we must still create space for dialogue with government about the opportunities. What are the big things that councils are uniquely placed to deliver and, which together, can create the ‘green shoots' of growth which will improve lives and sustain local services.
As chief executives we understand intuitively that vibrant local economies form the bedrock of healthy, happy communities, and underpin the public services upon which we all rely.
In Northumberland, recent, positive developments have made me reflect even more on the need to ‘talk-up' the opportunities…to re-emphasise with government what our sector can do not just locally but together for the whole country.
Examples that stand out for me include our fantastic Northumberland Line – who would have thought that local councils would be bringing back the railway in the 21st Century?!
But deliver it we have, with Government investment – and what a success it has been, with three stations open and three more due to complete over the coming months.
It's outstripped all initial targets, with over 500,000 passenger journeys made in the first eight months alone, opening up new opportunities for people to access not only their families and friends but also jobs and education – creating an economic ‘growth corridor' from our offshore engineering and renewable technology sites connecting through to leading research facilities in Newcastle.
Secondly, we're one of two areas in the North East to be included in the Government's new ‘AI Growth Zones' - which is set to unlock more than 5,000 new jobs in the years to come and bring in £30 billion in investment into the region
This will cement our position as being a key area for future national infrastructure – helping to boost economic growth and create new high-skilled jobs.
It follows our announcement last year of a state-of-the-art data centre in South East Northumberland, once famed for its coal powered fired station and heavy industry, bringing an inward investment of up to £10 billion, one of the largest in the UK.
The project will deliver hundreds of long-term jobs and as part of the deal, the County Council will receive a £110m fund which will drive long-term investment in growth and employment opportunities across the economic corridor along our Northumberland Line.
Finally, I'd like to raise a toast to Northumberland's Ad Gefrin Distillery, a flagship for high-quality investment in rural growth in the north of our county and a new tourism hot spot - which received £4m through the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal.
I do love fun facts and I've learned that in its first year of operation alone it got through 216 tonnes of malt - producing 135,000 litres of spirit – enough to fill 618 barrels. Or if spirits aren't your thing - more than 43,000 cups of coffee were served in the bistro.
You'd probably expect me to talk about the ‘opportunities' – after all, our corporate vision is for a ‘Land of Great Opportunities'. It's my job to be ambitious about our county's future and, crucially, to inspire my team to make that a reality.
I don't mean this in any way to play down the very real challenges our sector faces. For the record, these challenges are my daily lived experience too. Yet, I'm passionate about opening up new conversations on how places can drive the growth we all so desperately wants to see.
So, I know we'll all continue to talk about the challenges, seeking solutions with Government. I hope we can also still create the space to talk about the opportunities too.
Dr Helen Paterson is chief executive of Northumberland CC
