He also urged businesses to take a lead in making the case for education to be put higher on the agenda when it came to investment in the county.
Debbie Francis, who chairs Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said she believed the chances of the county coming together under a mayoral leadership were “slim”.
But she added there should still be a way to speak to central government if a county deal couldn’t be reached.
She said: “When it comes to the political landscape, we need to make a decision about what we are going to look like.” And she added that business needed to keep expressing its views.
Debbie said: “If we don’t come together with a mayor, we need to get behind our authorities and work with them to make sure that as a county we get what we need.”
Debbie also spoke of the need for Lancashire to stop seeing itself as a competitor to Manchester and Liverpool. She said instead there needed to be more collaboration.
If we are not going to get it
from government, we need to start helping ourselves
And she added: “We can’t keep moaning about what we want all the time. It is what we have got to offer as well, and we have got a lot to offer.”
Melissa Conlon, commercial director at AMRC North West, also stressed the importance of collaboration, including the need for more to take place inside the county.
She said that the pandemic had exposed structural weaknesses in the county and added: “As a collective we need to look at this.”
Melissa told the audience: “If we are not going to get it from government, we need to start helping ourselves.
“We need to start looking what we can do internally and that comes from collaboration.
“How do we raise skills in the county? How do we encourage people to stay here and to relocate here?
“The National Cyber Force coming to Samlesbury is an opportunity. Where are the skills going to come for that? With collaboration we can solve some of these things ourselves.”
Earlier in the conference Melissa spoke of the ambition behind the new AMRC North West, which is also based in Samlesbury.
She said the aim was to emulate the AMRC in Sheffield, which has helped create 10,000 manufacturing jobs and attracted major players, including planemaker Boeing to the city region.
EMERGING FROM THE DARK DAYS
LANCASHIRE IN ACTION
The pandemic has made many Lancashire businesses stronger as they have risen to the challenge and adapted to new ways for working.
Stacey Turner, of law firm CG Professional, said “agility, trust and empathy” had been key in meeting the challenges of the pandemic.
She added: “The pandemic has been a fantastic opportunity for businesses They have reacted to the challenges and come out the other side in a much stronger position.
“There are amazing businesses in Lancashire, we need to do more to find out about them and do more work together. It everyone makes that bit more effort to do that, it can only benefit us all.”
Paul Nugent, chief executive of insurance business the Santé Group, said: “Yes it’s made business stronger. They’ve had to look at how they continue to trade.”
He said government support schemes had helped and there was now more access to support. He also spoke of the importance of peer-to-peer networking.
Paul said: “There has been a massive uptake in occupational health. We have seen a change in the way businesses provide benefits. They are looking at the whole of the workforce and providing something for everyone.”
Charles MacMillan, partner at Beever and Struthers, said: “A lot of business have changed their approach in terms of the work/life balance.
“It has made people think about things in a Stacey Turner
Andrew Leeming, programme manager of Boost Business Lancashire, said business support was being taken a lot more seriously as a result of the pandemic.
He said people had now got a different idea about public funded support, adding: “It is about making sure businesses go out and ask for help. We want people to come and start a conversation.
“There are so many reasons in Lancashire to be cheerful about what is available to business owners and leaders. There are people out there that are desperate to support you.”
He also spoke of the importance of having a strong support network.
MAKING THE RIGHT NOISES
More companies need to come forward and tell their stories to the world as part of a wider drive to raise the county’s business profile.
That was one of the major conclusions of the ‘Shouting not Whispering’ panel discussion that closed Lancashire Business Week.
Mike Stevens of the BBC urged more companies to pick up the phone to media organisations with their stories of innovation and growth.
He said it was important to show “we are more than Blackpool and we are more than mill towns”.
Mike added: “There are so many businesses with a rich history and a really interesting story to tell and we never hear about them.”
Kate Ingham, head of regeneration and planning policy at Burnley Council, recounted its place brand-building work
over more than a decade.
She said: “It’s not just marketing and PR, there has to be real substance and there has to be a product behind it.”
Kate also praised the work of the Burnley Bondholders group and its members in raising the borough’s profile.
Debbie Francis, who chairs Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said the rest of the county needed to follow the example set by Burnley in telling its story.
She added it was vital Lancashire’s message was heard loudly and clearly in the Westminster corridors of power and the LEP could play its part in making that happen.
Kate said: “We are very good at talking to ourselves, we have got to start talking outside Lancashire and we have got to be making a lot more noise in Manchester and Liverpool, so they sit up.”
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
different way and look at personal aspects as well as business aspects.”
He added: “A lot of businesses have done well during the pandemic, and they have cash in their pockets and want to spend it. If you are a distressed business there is an opportunity to find a way of getting into bed with them.”
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