The B&NES Economic Strategy to 2034: A Small-Business Reading Guide
How the district’s economic ambitions connect to its Business and Skills Plan, and what the July 2025 annual report actually records about delivery.
Published
For a small business in Bath, the B&NES Economic Strategy sets out the council’s direction on employment, business growth and the conditions firms need to operate. Its horizon is 2034, and its geography is the whole Bath and North East Somerset district. The shorter Business and Skills Plan explains part of the delivery, while the July 2025 annual report records progress at that point.[1][2][3]
Three Documents With Different Jobs
Bath and North East Somerset Council describes the Economic Strategy as a ten-year vision. Its ambitions extend beyond business support to a greener economy, good work, inclusive innovation, resilient businesses, housing affordability and stronger places. A business reading only the Business and Skills Plan will see one part of that wider programme.[1][2]
| Document | Purpose | Useful Reading Question |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Strategy 2024 to 2034 | Sets the district’s long-term economic ambitions. | What changes does the council want to achieve? |
| Business and Skills Plan 2024 | Sets a three-year programme focused on Good Work and relevant Resilient Business and Inclusive Innovation objectives. | Which objectives connect to my business’s needs? |
| Business and Skills Plan Annual Report, July 2025 | Reports the first year’s delivery and identifies additional priorities. | What activity was documented by this reporting point? |
There’s another distinction inside the plan. Its supplementary implementation document is intended to hold project milestones, key performance indicators, objective leads and stakeholders. That is where a broad ambition should become a delivery commitment with someone responsible for it.[2]
What Resilient Business and Inclusive Innovation Mean
Resilient Business covers practical conditions for firms to stay and grow in B&NES. The plan includes business networks, participation in regional growth programmes and planning for future industrial, office and retail space. It also includes support for alternative business models and community-led organisations.[2]
Inclusive Innovation is broader than support for technology start-ups. The plan proposes connecting local businesses with university innovation facilities, promoting the area as a place to test ideas and extending innovation support across sectors. It explicitly includes the foundational economy, the everyday businesses and services on which communities depend.[2]
For your own reading, start with the constraint you’re trying to solve. A shortage of suitable premises points towards the employment-space objectives. Difficulty retaining or developing staff connects to Good Work. These are ways to locate relevant policy commitments. A development’s appearance in the plan doesn’t establish that premises are available or that a business can obtain funding.[2]
What the July 2025 Progress Figures Count
The July 2025 annual report says 18 of the original 47 Business and Skills Plan objectives had been completed or adopted as business as usual. A further 20 were started or ongoing. Its aggregate table records five objectives under a new lead or being handed over, and four as upcoming or stalled.[3]
The combined completion category needs care. Adopting an activity as business as usual means it becomes part of continuing work. The category brings that together with completed objectives, so the total cannot be read as 18 finished projects or 18 demonstrated improvements in business performance.[3]
The report describes roughly 40% objective completion in Year 1 using that combined category. Its separate 90% figure covers objectives progressing, completed or adopted as routine work after excluding the five transferred objectives. That is a narrower denominator than the original 47, and it measures a broader range of activity than completion alone.[3]
Among the 21 short-term objectives, eight were completed or adopted as routine work, ten were started or ongoing and three were being transferred to another lead. None of the short-term objectives was classified as upcoming or stalled. These are the council’s aggregate assessments for the Business and Skills Plan at the July 2025 reporting point, rather than a measure of how much of the entire 2034 strategy had been achieved.[3]
Dated Milestones Show How Delivery Was Organised
The report records the establishment of Good Work and Resilient Business working groups in spring 2025. The Good Work group addressed inclusive employment and employer practices. The Resilient Business group’s remit included business growth, employment space, local procurement and representation across B&NES. Their establishment is a documented organisational milestone, while improvements in those areas remain outcomes to assess.[3]
The same report shows why a named project needs its own dated reading. FWD, a partnership involving local education institutions and the council, had completed its initial pilot. The report states that further funding had not been secured and the project was considered closed. Historical delivery can leave useful results and relationships without providing an ongoing route for businesses to join.[3]
What to Look for in the Next Progress Account
The plan’s proposed success indicators include staff retention, employee training, recruitment gaps, earnings and business starts. Those measures ask a different question from an objective count: whether conditions are improving for residents and employers. The plan also recognises that some indicators describe the wider economy, so a change in them cannot automatically be credited to one council intervention.[2]
When assessing a commitment relevant to your business, look for its delivery lead, dated milestone and measurable result. For transferred objectives, follow responsibility into the receiving team’s reporting. Keep the July 2025 account as a historical reference, then check the current record for any programme you intend to use or investment decision you need to make.[2][3]
Sources and checks
These sources were used for this article. Availability, prices and service details can change after the stated check date.
- B&NES Economic Strategy 2024 to 2034 | Bath and North East Somerset Council
Checked 20 October 2026.
The Economic Strategy provides a district-wide vision to 2034. The strategy has six pillars. The Business and Skills Plan implements Good Work and relevant Resilient Business and Inclusive Innovation objectives.
- https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Business-Skills-Plan.pdf
Checked 20 October 2026.
The Business and Skills Plan describes a three-year programme. Its implementation document is intended to identify milestones, performance indicators, objective leads and stakeholders. The plan covers business networks, growth programmes, employment space and alternative business models. Inclusive Innovation includes university connections, testing ideas and support for the foundational economy. The proposed success indicators include retention, training, recruitment gaps, earnings and business starts, including wider economic measures.
- https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Business_and_Skills_Plan_Annual_Report_July_2025.pdf
Checked 20 October 2026.
The July 2025 report assesses the first year of Business and Skills Plan delivery. Of 47 original objectives, 18 were completed or adopted as business as usual, 20 were started or ongoing, five were transferred or transferring and four were upcoming or stalled. The report’s roughly 40% figure combines completed objectives with routine workstreams. Its 90% figure excludes transferred objectives and combines ongoing activity with completion and routine delivery. The 21 short-term objectives comprised eight completed or routine, ten ongoing and three transferring. Good Work and Resilient Business working groups were established in spring 2025. The report describes FWD as closed after its initial pilot because further funding had not been secured.