Black Country refuses to team up with Birmingham for regional LEP
Old rivalries between Birmingham and the Black Country have put paid to plans to set up a powerful successor to Advantage West Midlands.
Birmingham City Council has been attempting to persuade Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Dudley councils, along with business leaders, to join forces in establishing one of the Government’s new Local Enterprise Partnerships, which would replace the regional development agency as a driving force of economic regeneration.
But talks behind the scenes ran into a brick wall when the Black Country council leaders said they would rather go it alone.
The snub is the latest example of a difficult working relationships between the seven West Midlands metropolitan councils that stretches back to local government reorganisation in 1974.
The Black Country local authorities have often accused Birmingham of being overbearing, while Birmingham points out that as the region’s economic powerhouse it should be regarded as the pre-eminent council.
If it had got off the ground a Birmingham and the Black Country LEP would have probably been the largest of its kind anywhere in the country.
An offer to join the LEP is also open to Solihull, Bromsgrove, Redditch, Wyre Forest, Lichfield, Cannock and Tamworth councils. The body would take over AWM’s duties to create economic regeneration and bring jobs to the region.
It would also have powers to oversee planning, housing, local transport and employment policies.
Business input into the LEP would be led by Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCI).
Walsall Council leader Mike Bird insisted it would make sense for the four Black Country councils to form their own LEP, although he stressed they would continue to work with Birmingham on issues of mutual importance such as the Midland Metro tram system.
He said there was “no question” Birmingham had been viewed as overly powerful in the past, but added: “Those days are gone now. We have been working closely with Birmingham for the past few years and that will continue.”
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Jerry Blackett said he regretted the Black Country decision to go it alone, but added: “This is localism in action.”
Mr Blackett said: “We were very keen on Birmingham and the Black Country joining together in an LEP because we could see the potential. If you think about a global marketplace we need to be seen as competitive and substantial. It would have sent a strong message about the capital of the conurbation, but that is not to be.”
He believes the West Midlands may end up with as many as six LEPs and it would be essential to work together on cross-regional issues. Mr Blackett warned that the business sector would walk away from LEPs if the organisations were run in the manner of council committees.
He added: “We have got to be radical and the process needs to be transparent. We will kill LEPs if the first meeting takes four hours and nothing is decided.”
