A sense of gloom about the economic prospects is not shared by the West Midlands. That’s my conclusion having attended two great Downtown events in the last week.
First up we had the return of Joanne Roney (Chief Exec Birmingham City Council) to her former stomping ground of Manchester for our Talking ‘Bout Regeneration conference. This was followed by a Westminster Reception for the West Midlands where the new Business Secretary, Peter Kyle said the region’s growth plan tied in well with the aims of the government.
At the Manchester gathering we had a comprehensive range of top speakers from across the North. The second city went first in the other second city if you get my drift, with Neil Rami CEO of the West Midlands Growth Company pointing out the strong growth in Indian investment whilst Julie Nugent (CEO Coventry) felt the three key cities of the region were now coming together.
Roney said it was unfortunate that Birmingham’s problems with bins, and the council budget grabbed the headlines because they were being addressed. HS2 may have been cut back but the city would be 49 minutes from London when the track was complete. The vision was happening declared Roney.
Leeds Council leader James Lewis was dismayed that Reform UK would scrap Northern Powerhouse Rail, whilst Liverpool’s Liam Robinson issued a plea for business expertise to help his city where its strengths were in life sciences, medicine and maritime. He seemed a bit sceptical Labour could reach its target of building one and a half million homes due to the lack of capacity in the construction industry but welcomed the appointment of Alison McGovern as Housing Minister. Everton’s new stadium had been built on time and on budget and other regeneration targets included the Festival Gardens site.
Stephen Young, the brand new CEO of Salford called for less politics in the planning process whilst Michelle Steel referring to the government’s ambitions on house building said a quarter of a million new workers would be needed due to an ageing workforce and the exodus of labour after Brexit.
The government needed to capitalise on its big majority to get things moving according to Robbie Blackhurst of Procure Partnerships Framework and above all get principal contractors in early on infrastructure projects. The conference ended with Paul McNerney from Laing O’Rourke calling for a pipeline of projects so that people could build a career rather than being dispersed after each contract.
So, to the febrile atmosphere of Westminster following the departure of Angela Rayner and Lord Mandelson. The government are clearly going to use next week’s Labour conference to try and get away from all that with a message that they get the need for more urgency. That was the theme of the new Business Secretary Peter Kyle as he addressed the packed Downtown meeting on the Commons Terrace, whilst the interim CEO of the West Midlands Combined Authority joined the Mayor, Richard Parker, in saying the region should proclaim its success more.
From the two events one gets the sense that business and councils are ready to go for growth providing tax and economic policy are wisely handled.
