Black Country refuses to team up with Birmingham for regional LEP
Stephen Hughes, chief executive of Birmingham City Council, who is leading attempts to broker an agreement, said: “Black Country chief executives have left open the possibility of having a conversation with Birmingham. They want to understand the benefits to them of what we are proposing.”
Birmingham City Council deputy leader Paul Tilsley insisted talks were at a “very fluid stage”, although he stressed that timescales were short since formal proposals for an LEP must be with the Government by September 6.
Coun Tilsley (Lib Dem Sheldon) said: “My understanding is that the Black Country councils have signalled that they wish to make an LEP submission on their own. However, there are ongoing discussions. Nothing is set in stone.”
Birmingham’s opposition Labour leader Sir Albert Bore said: “We must work to persuade the Black Country to join a Greater Birmingham LEP. They don’t seem to have this problem in Manchester and nor should we.”
AWM’s assets, including a multi-million pound land bank for potential industrial and commercial development, would transfer to the LEP if the initiative gets government approval.
LEPs could also run Accelerated Development Zones – where councils are permitted to borrow money to fund inward investment and finance the repayments by using income streams from business rates.
In a report to the Birmingham cabinet, Mr Hughes said the intention was to bring together council leaders and the “highest calibre of business people” to provide the strategic leadership necessary to create a globally competitive economy.
The LEP board would consist of an equal number of council leaders and business representatives and would be chaired by a business leader.
Mr Hughes added: “These are ambitious aims but they are vital if economic renewal is to be achieved. They are also possible through a joint undertaking between business and local authorities. The big prize for working together is the genuine opportunity for local business and local government to take control of its own destiny and deliver real and balanced growth.”
The bid to set up an LEP comes shortly after Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles announced the abolition of regional development agencies.
AWM is reviewing 600 projects, having been told by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that it must save £37.1 million, or 18.6 per cent, of its budget in the current financial year. It has also imposed a freeze on new spending.
