Redeveloping local economic strategy for the post-regionalist era: A contextual benchmarking approach

The decline of the regionalist era and introduction of localism has set a number of emerging issues for economic development at the local level. Amongst the spatial, organisational and functional challenges facing local government a prevalent one is re-engineering a local development trajectory to represent this new environment. The dissolution of the regional governance hierarchy alongside a fundamental shift in aspirations for economic shape and structure has forced localities to reconsider approaches to both economic development and spatial economy. Using an action-based case study of the Borough of Poole, a coastal conurbation in Southern England, this article looks at the local response in revising the economic development strategy through a contextual benchmarking approach. It proposes an alternative method to adopt in developing local strategy contributing toward questions on defining spatial economy, integrating local context and actors, and adapting to a wider set of structural and fiscal issues.