Forest of Dean District Councillor, Jonathan Lane, has just taken over the challenging mantle of boosting the Forest economy. A key member of the council’s Green Party Cabinet, Jonathan, 41, is a teacher who ran the Sixth Form at Wyedean School for seven years.
Ian Mean, a board member of the Forest Economic Partnership(FEP), Gloucestershire director of Business West, and Vice Chair of GFirst LEP, asked him some penetrating questions.
IM: What's your agenda to grow the Forest of Dean economy?
JL: "My view is you have got to start with what you want it to be. So, the way I would summarise it is that you want it to be a place where people and businesses prosper -that's the first thing. I want an economy that's innovative, resilient and Green. You want an economy where people aren't left behind and the areas that need generation are regenerated and you want an economy where people have the skills and qualifications to excel. So, those are my four elements that I would sum up as being really what I want for the Forest economy.”
IM: You need companies to grow and come into the Forest. Doesn't that growth actually clash with a lot of Green Party policy and thinking?
JL: "For me it doesn't. I understand why you're asking this question, and my priority is on what I would call Green growth, helping companies grow and decarbonise. I understand the ‘de-growth’ agenda of saying- Look our environment is in such a state that we actually have to ‘degrow’. But I am not convinced by that actually. I think that causes a hell of a lot of social and economic problems, and I don't think you have to ‘de-grow’ in order to protect the planet and environment. I think you can grow in a Green and sustainable way. Let's take, for example, the Jones Food Company at Lydney-a successful company making money and they're trying to do it in as Green a way as possible. If they could get some solar panels, which I think they are doing, they can power what they do with renewable energy. They are helping to protect the environment by growing food in a place that's close to the point of delivery so you are not having buy it from abroad. So, I think there are loads of ways that businesses can grow in a Green and sustainable way.”
IM: Productivity is the big challenge we all face. How are you going to increase productivity? One thing that you probably saw from the county council’s draft economic strategy was that the Forest has a high productivity rate.
JL: “Isn't that amazing? So, the productivity data is really, really strong. When it comes to increasing productivity. I'm tempted to say the best thing I can do is get out of the way because it's already going well, actually. In fact, you could argue it is one of the biggest strengths of the Forest of Dean economy. Some of that is to do with the food, retail and wholesale sector, which is a very productive sector. The wholesale and retail sector in the Forest of Dean is actually quite a sizeable chunk of the economy and it's one of the biggest reasons why the Forest of Dean economy is productive."
IM: "The point you make about getting out of the way of business is a good one. We need businesses not to be blocked from doing things or burdened with loads of regulation."
JL: “My take on this is that, in the main, I am a believer in a free market and I don't really believe that having heavily centralised planning leads to a more vibrant economy. I actually think that it's better as a rule if you step back, let business do its thing as that’s proved over time to be the most efficient way to match supply with demand. There are exceptions to the rule, of course. When the market doesn’t deliver, that’s where government has to step in.”
IM: You are committed as a Party to net zero, but you're living in area of quite a lot of deprivation. How can this really be afforded by many households?
JL: “I think that there are loads of reasons for deprivation and I'm not convinced that net zero is a cause- deprivation existed well before net zero was a thing. So, I would actually try to separate those two things out. I understand where you're going with it, but I would actually try to look at the causes of deprivation and tackle those, whether it be mental health, is it do with caring or poor educational qualifications? There are loads of different reasons for deprivation, and I see the quest for net zero as being one that actually should be part of the fight against deprivation.One of the reasons why people are poor, is because they spend a disproportionate amount of their money on heating. Part of that is because fossil fuel prices are high and so we need to sort that out. If Britain was better at producing its own energy through sustainable means, the price of electricity would fall."
IM: Business is only going to come into the Forest if you make more employment land available, so how are you going to achieve that?
JL: "I think we've got to use our local plan for that, and when it comes to discussions around the local plan, build into it the protection of economic land or land for economic use. It should not then be passed over for housing but don’t get me wrong, I think we do need more housing, but we must make sure that we are safeguarding our economic land as well. We must also look for opportunities if land becomes available for development. We then maybe look at how and if we are going to build housing. Can some of it be used for economic purposes as well so it’s not all housing.”
IM: Do you believe it's right to have an overall structure plan for Gloucestershire?
JL: "I think you should have an overall plan. I think that one thing I've learnt is that you don't solve problems in isolation. It's far better if we co-ordinate and plan strategically together as districts and then as a county about what the economic priorities are and how we are going to move forward with them." “Now, I appreciate that each district might have its own priorities, but I've also learnt enough though to realise that there is more in common than there is difference. Within that there will be areas of the districts that’s a bit more idiosyncratic and there's nothing wrong with a district trying to remedy that problem that’s specific to their community. You would want them to try to do that. That being said, there's going to be huge areas of commonality across Gloucestershire. I daresay across the West we can all work together on them and try to have a united voice on issues. You have got more chance of being heard when you've got that united voice.”
IM: What about the Forest building its own council homes as an affordable homes builder? This is probably one of the country’s biggest challenges.
JL: "I completely agree. I think that housing is one of the biggest problems we have in in the country. I think there's a massive fracture line in the country between those who own a home and those who don't. “I think it's a real issue and is part of the solution to have more council houses? In short, yes, I do. I do think that's part of the solution. I think it was clearly a massive error in the 1970s to sell off our housing stock and not replace it. We're living with the consequence of that popular short-term policy 30-40 years later, and we're trying to sort it out now and it's really, really difficult. But you're absolutely right to point out it is one of the fundamental political problems of our time. Building houses is part of the answer and I would love to see council houses as part of the mix of that solution."
*Councillor Lane will be one of the speakers at a free Gloucestershire Chamber Listening to Business event-supported by the Forest of Dean District Council-on November 23 at the Speech House, Coleford.
Free tickets are available through Eventbrite, click here