Business News
On the record: Mayor talks important issues
West Midlands mayor Andy Street tackled some of the big issues facing the region during an in-depth interview with Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce chief executive Paul Faulkner. The wide-ranging interview - in which Mr Street gave his thoughts on the high-street’s struggles, the proposed Clean Air Zone in Birmingham and why Midlanders must back HS2 – was recorded for the Chamber’s podcast channel. Here, Chamberlink provides a snapshot of the mayor’s views.
Street on business rates… “We need a full review of whether business rates are still appropriate for how businesses make a profit. “It charges property but doesn’t
Street on HS2… “People think HS2 is already in the bag – let’s hope it is for Birmingham to London. I think it is and the Government is incredibly supportive of it. “But the northern sections have not
yet gone through Parliament, so Midlanders have to keep making the case. “If the line finishes in Birmingham, it
will not provide that spine of transport for the next 50 to 100 years.”
charge other things, so it reflects how retail businesses and manufacturers made money 40 or 50 years ago. It is no longer up to date.” Street on keeping the region moving… “It is important for businesses, citizens
and visitors to be able to move around freely – but it is also about doing it in a sustainable way without polluting. “Nearly two thirds of journeys in the
West Midlands are by car, so what we are trying to do is give an alternative.”
Street on Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone… “There is a public health crisis around clean air, so it has to be done. “But some of the ways in which it is
being done, I do not agree with. “I don’t think the mitigations, particularly for taxi drivers and small businesses, are sufficiently generous and thought through. “We also have to make sure our public
transport is good enough to give people an alternative.”
Street on devolution… “The Cameron/Osborne Government was very clear in its focus and came a long way in delivering devolution. “The current Government has not got
the bandwidth to look at that in the same way.
“However, if you look at the cash they
have put on the table to support us, it has been pretty good - £2bn more since the setting up the Combined Authority. “Eventually the Brexit fog will clear
and everyone in London will ask ‘where does the impetus come from now?’. “We have got to be ready to say ‘we have the impetus here’.”
Street on the future of the high-street… “I don’t like to think of this as just a retail issue. “When I knock on doors throughout the West Midlands, people say the state of their high-
street or town centre is something they genuinely care about. “The Combined Authority’s Town Centres programme choses five pilot town centres then
puts in place some of the actions we think can turn round the fortunes of these high-streets. “That involves buying derelict properties and repurposing them. It also involves bringing
more housing into town centres. “We are trying to think differently about what the future purpose of a town centre is.”
10 CHAMBERLINK June 2019
Street on the 2022 Commonwealth Games… “We have come through some tough years in the West Midlands but this coincides with our revival. “It is an opportunity to show, not just
the rest of the world, but also our citizens that they are part of a place that is doing things right.”
• Listen to the interview with Andy Street in five parts on Apple Podcasts, audioBoom, Spotify, Deezer and on the latest news section of
www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
