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One thing came through loudly and clearly during our Built Environment Conference. Whatever pronouncements are coming out of Downing Street, Lancashire businesses are committed to their carbon reduction and energy saving journeys.
Our speakers also stressed the need for an end to short-term uncertainty as they look to deliver their development plans for the county.
And there was widespread acknowledgement that our under- resourced planning system is broken and that is hindering investment decisions.
It is clear that something needs to be done to fix the problem and that is one of the messages from the conference that we will be sharing with those in the corridors of power, both locally and nationally.
However, there is also some cause for optimism, with strong support for Lancashire’s 2050 strategic plan also evident throughout the event. That must be good news for those working at the moment to drive forward a long-awaited devolution deal.
Long-term planning pays off for the economy. It is something that Lancashire’s family businesses have known and practised for generations. It is what makes them so resilient.
These family businesses are the backbone of the county’s economy and in this issue of Lancashire Business View we put their DNA under the microscope.
What emerges from our report is their unwavering commitment to
Richard Slater, chairman
richard@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295584
the long-term and handing on the baton to future generations, along with an ability to act with speed when it comes to decision making.
Sadly, both speed and commitment seem lacking when it comes to developing the nation’s infrastructure for our future generations. The decision to axe the northern leg of the HS2 high-speed rail project, announced by Rishi Sunak was not unexpected.
However it has raised questions that need answering, not only around the ‘levelling up’ agenda we hear so much about, but also why the costs ran so far out of control and why planning issues are so difficult when it comes to large-scale infrastructure projects in the UK.
Then there is the thorny issue of the way the north is treated when it comes to infrastructure investment and improving transport links.
We ask, would the decision to scrap the HS2 leg have been made if it was to have better connected communities across the south of England?
As we report in this issue the government has come up with ‘Network North’ – described as a new plan to improve transport links by spending the money that would have been used for HS2 in another way.
Businesses in Lancashire will be hoping that its projects go beyond the drawing board and develop into tangible, realistic developments that will actually be completed and deliver badly needed improvements to a rail network that, like our planning system, is creaking.
Stephen Bolton, managing director
stephen@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295583
Lancashire Business View is written, designed and produced by Northpoint Publishing.
Rachael Norris, marketing & events director
rachael@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295586
EDITORIAL
Ged Henderson, editor
editor@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295585
SALES
Joanne Hindley, sales director
joanne@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295585
SUPPORT
Abbey Coates, operations manager
abbey@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295585
Anna King, senior administrator
anna@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295582
Kath Bell, LBV Hub manager
kath@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 07385 381073
Tim Aldred, online editor
tim@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 297870
Olivia McCaughran, assistant marketing manager
olivia@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk t: 01254 295587
Lancashire Business View and LBV are registered trademarks.
The views expressed by our columnists are not necessarily shared by Lancashire Business View.
Photography: Clive Lawrence
Artwork: Scott Dawson Advertising Printers: Peter Scott Printers, Burnley
Northpoint Publishing East Park Lodge, East Park Road, Blackburn BB1 8DW
t: 01254 297870 ISSN: 1757-479X
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