inspire BUSINESS WEST – CONNECTING BUSINESSES COMMENT & OPINION Keeping you up-to-date with the latest political policies and decisions that affect South West businesses


Business and a hung parliament


By James Durie, Director – Bristol Chamber & Initiative


With a hung Parliament – no overall majority for the Conservatives – business will be very concerned about more and more uncertainty and delays in the Brexit process. Our Business West Chamber of


Commerce & Initiative members have told us in our recent survey how frustrated they are with the lack of information on the ongoing Brexit process. They will be even more annoyed that our


Government’s standing will be at rock bottom with the EU now that Theresa May’s credibility has been shattered by the general election result which she totally focused on Brexit. Calling a snap election with just eight


weeks to give herself a stronger hand in the EU talks was a big gamble which the British people have clearly rejected. Never underestimate the electorate is an old adage used by experienced politicians and today they have confounded expectations. So, what will happen now? More


frustration for these businesses who now face the prospect of those initial Brexit talks being further delayed, because we could well have a Tory Party leadership election on our hands. If Theresa May does eventually resign,


that delay in the talks could be as much as three months, and on top of that she, and in fact no one, will be in charge of the Brexit process. How can she retain any credibility with the EU, having had her wish for a stronger mandate for Brexit well and truly torpedoed? For a lot of companies in Bristol and the


West of England, where the strength of the pound is a big issue to make them more competitive, the lack of urgency created by a hung parliament could well impact on their profitability for quite a period. In our experience in Bristol and the West


of England, few companies had much confidence in the Government’s secretive Brexit process. Business was largely ignored in this election campaign. This simply has to change.


14 insight JULY/AUGUST 2017


We must find room for young people


By IAN BELL, Executive Director, Bath Chamber of Commerce and the Initiative in B&NES


B


ack in 2013, the council responded to residents in three wards, Widcombe, Westmoreland and Oldfield Park, who


were complaining about too many students houses. Extra regulations were imposed, making it more difficult for future applications to be granted for what are termed ‘Houses of Multiple Occupancy’ (HMO). This all seemed well and good because we


would all understand the concerns of residents who didn’t want their streets turned into a student hall of residence. However, now the council is considering making the rules even tighter in those wards and possibly even applying them right across the city. Unfortunately there is often a law of


unintended consequences when new rules are brought in and I fear that might be the case here. Because it’s not just students who rely on


HMO, it’s also young working people who can’t afford to rent a whole property themselves, let alone buy one. They need something of decent quality which they can afford, ideally within


walking or cycling distance of the city. And we need them to stay to live and work in Bath, bringing their talents and enthusiasm to help businesses develop and grow. The simple truth is that if the supply of HMO


falls, then prices are bound to rise and then we run the real risk of seeing those valuable young people being forced out of the market and taking their skills elsewhere. So what’s the answer? First and foremost I


think we need to establish the true scale of demand for this kind of accommodation over the next ten years. The universities can predict the likely growth in student numbers and the percentage who will need to live off campus. Once we have an idea of how many HMO will be required we can take a strategic approach to providing them so that they don’t overwhelm any individual neighbourhood. That information would also be useful in helping to shape what other kinds of housing are needed in the next decade and where they should be built. What we definitely don’t need is an overly


complex regulatory system. We do need to provide affordable places for young workers to live – our economy and future prosperity will depend on them.


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