Glasgow Business . 23
www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
St. Enoch Centre
”The relationship between Glasgow City Council and the business community is in good health and we recognise the excellent work the Council has done in recent years to transform the economic fortunes of our city”
previous State of the City Economy addresses, particularly the drive to increase the business base in the city by 2000 enterprises by 2017 and the drive to tackle inequality alongside economic growth. Te strategy approach will include detailed
analysis of the Glasgow economy by Oxford Economics to identify strengths and weaknesses and benchmark Glasgow’s position against other non-capital cities. In addition, it will include a series of round table discussions hosted by ResPublica, a think tank that urges the fullest possible devolution of public spending and tax raising powers to cities. A working group comprising of the City
Council, University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce will draſt a full Report on the strategy. A progress report on this work was to
be presented to the 2015 State of the City Conference in November (which was aſter this magazine went to press). Te Council of Directors of Glasgow
Chamber has given its full backing to the approach to developing the new economic strategy. Stuart Patrick said: “Te relationship
between Glasgow City Council and the business community is in good health and we recognise the excellent work the Council has done in recent years to transform the economic fortunes of our city. “Initiatives such as the Glasgow City Deal,
the Glasgow Economic Leadership on the city economic strategy, the Sustainable Glasgow Board’s work on the environment and climate change, the City Centre Strategy Board’s atention to the engine room of the city economy, the hugely successful delivery of the Commonwealth Games and the investment in the UK’s most successful marketing bureau are all excellent examples of Council leadership. “So too has been the lead taken on securing
employment opportunities for our young people, an issue that is at the very top of the Chamber’s agenda.”
The Clyde Arc at night
KEY PRIORITIES FOR THE CITY
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the continued priority that the City Council leadership gives to developing the city economy and maintaining strong links with the business community. The comments came following the first business engagement meeting between Chamber members with recently elected City Council Leader Frank McAveety. Councillor McAveety spoke about his
key priorities for the city in an engagement meeting that saw its highest attendance by Chamber members for many months. He highlighted the strong retail and hospitality sectors, the City Deal, promotion of the Glasgow Living Wage, Crossrail Glasgow and a fair deal for local government finance. Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive of Glasgow
Chamber, set out key sectors where the city region thrives including the vibrant food and drinks sector and the contribution of bodies such as Glasgow Economic Leadership and the City Centre Retail Association. Key economic issues cited by Mr Patrick included a Glasgow Airport rail link, the role of the commercial property in the city’s economy and the city’s ability to host major events and attract large numbers of leisure visitors.
In a question-and-answer session,
Councillor McAveety fielded questions from Chamber Members on a broad range of topics including delays to the Buchanan Galleries expansion, the City Deal, universal Wi-Fi and Glasgow’s transport network.
Leader role for McAveety
Councillor Frank McAveety was elected Leader of Glasgow City Council on 10 September. He previously served as Council Leader from
1997 until 1999 when he was elected to the then newly-formed Scottish Parliament. He represented Glasgow Shettleston until the 2011 election. At Holyrood he was Deputy Minister for Local
Government, Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care and Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport in the early years of devolution.
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