VISION WEST REPRESENTATION
What does local mean?
responsibility for strategic long-term planning and, of course, backing for the development and roll out of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone and Enterprise Areas that have been identified right across the West of England. We are also tackling specific issues, such as opposition to business rates being charged on empty property, and have acted in conjunction with British Chambers in lobbying the Chancellor.
“It is vital relationships are built with councillors and MPs”
Planning and Development is critically important for every area of the sub-region. All our local teams will be making the voices of members heard in the preparations of Core Strategies, which are being developed by every local authority and pressing for streamlined planning processes, whilst in Bath the emphasis will be on satisfying an urgent need for modern office space, close to public transport links, offering flexible leasing arrangements.
4. Employment and Skills
This area already has a large number of highly qualified and capable people, but there is a challenge to continually re-stock the skills pool with “job ready” people which will make the area all the more attractive to inward investors. This means there is a real benefit to business in becoming involved with all aspects of education, from school through colleges and into universities, ensuring that the entire system is designed to equip our young people with the necessary skills and attitudes that will be attractive to employers. We will be working to promote this level of business engagement in schools, supporting businesses to become involved with national and local schemes to increase employment opportunities for young people and encouraging graduate retention and recruitment.
That plays out in detail in Swindon with continued support of the Plan 500 scheme and there is widespread work going on with all local education institutions to ensure their courses properly reflect the demands and opportunities in the local labour market.
5. Energy and Low Carbon Economy
All businesses will have to be conscious of the major challenge posed by the Government’s target of reaching an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 as well as questions about energy supplies and their costs. Businesses will see a direct cost benefit from making the most efficient use of resources and the Initiative will ensure their opinions are heard when it comes to developing schemes to improve resilience to the effects of natural events and promote programmes to secure sources of energy.
6. National and Local Government
Many of the decisions which impact on business will be made by politicians at both a local and national level. Therefore it is vital that constructive relationships are built with the councillors and Members of Parliament who have been democratically elected. This is where our local Initiative and Chamber teams become particularly valuable. It is telling that MPs are ever more interested in attending area-based events which the Initiative facilitates, knowing that they are hearing from the very people who drive the economy and can play a huge part in achieving the much needed recovery. This is the basis of the Business West plan. In the next 12 months, with the continuing support or our members, you will see real action.
The Government has had a lot to say about reducing central control and giving more power to local communities. Nigel Hutchings, Director Chambers of Commerce, says that sounds as if it could be good news for business. On the face of it, the Localism Act is a fairly straightforward piece of legislation. It delivers what has long been promised – that there will be less of Whitehall and more of Town Hall and even Parish Hall when it comes to making decisions that matter to the communities which they affect. However, as usual, the devil will be in the detail and the way it is interpreted will be all important so it will be up to the business community to continue to be fully involved to ensure it plays out well. The government has rightly recognised that businesses play an important role in communities, and have amended the bill to ensure that local companies have a voice in local planning decisions and partly as a result of our lobbying, commercial neighbourhoods will be able to create their own Business Neighbourhood Plans. Those are really positive steps, but there is still much more to be done to deliver a cost- effective, timely and efficient planning process that gives businesses the confidence to invest.
Another issue is how the new Community Infrastructure Levy will come into play. It is right that funds for infrastructure should be raised, but not at such a level that it puts a brake on the development we all want to see. We are also very interested in the question of referenda on the question of whether we should have elected Mayors. There is considerable support among the business community for the concept but what powers should such an individual possess and what would be the geographic area over which they would govern ? In our case we currently have a number of individual local authorities. Some argue that it would be less expensive and more efficient if they merged into one single Council with an elected Mayor – controversial stuff that needs to be thought about. The acid test about all aspects of the Localism Act will be when we discover whether the new system helps or hinders economic growth. The jury is not even out, they are simply being sworn in.
Business West Update JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
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