Building a fairer, greener, stronger Hounslow
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit our borough hard – both socially and economically.
The ongoing impacts of the pandemic on aviation and the downturn at Heathrow is particularly affecting Hounslow’s communities. The reduction in activity at Heathrow could lead to a £1bn loss to Hounslow’s economy over three years and put more than 40,000 jobs at risk (Oxford Economics, 2020) – one third of the borough’s workforce.
In Hounslow we have already seen almost 10,000 jobs lost (almost 15,000 residents remain furloughed) and a 100% increase in Universal Credit claimants since the start of the pandemic. Our residents and businesses are facing extremely tough months and years ahead.
The Council will need to inform, support and empower our communities as never before. There is already an incredible amount of work happening with our partners to help the borough re-build in a fairer, greener and stronger way.
But clearly this is just the beginning and there is a lot more to do. It’s going to require different ways of thinking, innovation and a new era of ‘One Hounslow’ collaboration between residents, businesses and partners.
So, what’s happening?
We will be hosting a series of virtual ‘roundtable’ events over the coming months to bring together new thinking, best practice and expert practitioners from the UK and internationally, to drive recovery and support those who have been most impacted.
The roundtable events will explore topics such as: community wealth building, youth employment and skills, and health inequalities.
Community Wealth Building
Today (Monday 9 August) we are kicking off our series of virtual recovery roundtable events – starting with ‘Community Wealth Building’.
Our Deputy Leader, Cllr Lily Bath, will chair this inaugural event and will be joined by local partners and leading practitioners and proponents of Community Wealth Building including:
- Zayne Abdessalam, Director of Policy and Research - New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
- Irfan Arif, Senior Development Service Manager - Ealing and Hounslow Community Voluntary Service
- Cliff Crown, Club Chairman - Brentford FC
- Amelia Grant, Head of Member Services - West London Business
- Sarah Longlands, Chief Executive - CLES (Centre for Local Economic Strategies)
- Sarah McKinley, Director of European Programs - The Democracy Collaborative
- Lesley Watts, Chief Executive - North West London Integrated Care System
On the Agenda for discussion will be key themes such as:
- Progressive procurement  
- Skills and employment
- Supporting locally-owned micro and small businesses
- Community solutions
- Utilisation of land and assets
What is Community Wealth Building?
Community Wealth Building is about supporting communities to create wealth and retain the benefits of economic growth locally. It is an approach which strives to produce shared economic prosperity and social equity. It goes beyond just encouraging companies to invest in a local area, it marshals the wealth that already exists, such as public sector spend, the talent and skills of residents, and the variety of small businesses, for the benefit of the whole community.
The Community Wealth Building roundtable is the start of a conversation that will help set the framework for Hounslow’s approach to attracting investment, encouraging the ‘circular pound’ and enabling communities to support themselves.
Our Community Wealth Building approach will:
- fit the borough’s needs
- reduce inequalities
- ensure everyone benefits from growth
- establish a genuinely green environment and economy
Because while Hounslow has been one of the hardest hit boroughs in the country, our ambitions go beyond recovery, to a greater vision of long-term transformation – built around people, prosperity and place.
If you would like to find out more, or get involved, please contact: sarah.filby@hounslow.gov.uk
