ESBC Votes to Join Birmingham Local Enterprise Partnership

Aug 27th, 2010 | By Chris Towland | Category: Burton Stuff

East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Cabinet members voted this week to join the Birmingham Local Enterprise Partnership.

Local Enterprise Partnerships (or LEPs) are being created across the country after the new Coalition Government announced they would replace the existing Regional Development Agencies.

The LEPs are partnerships between local authorities, like East Staffordshire Borough Council, and businesses that will promote local economic development, with the power to tackle issues such as planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure, employment and enterprise and the move towards a low carbon economy.

At an extraordinary Cabinet meeting held last night (Monday, August 23rd), the Council’s senior members discussed the pros and cons of each of the three options open to the Council:

1. Joining Nottinghamshire County, Derbyshire County, Derby City and Nottingham City councils to form a LEP.

2. Joining a Birmingham City Region LEP with districts in Southern Staffordshire and North Worcestershire

3. Form a Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent LEP that covers the existing administrative county boundaries and city of Stoke-on-Trent.

Councillor Richard Grosvenor, Leader of East Staffordshire Borough Council, said: “It has not been an easy decision with several pros and cons to consider for each of the options, but in the end the Cabinet felt that the Birmingham option was the best way forward for the future development and promotion of East Staffordshire.

“Birmingham is geographically close, strategically large enough to make an impact against the other large city LEPs and is well supported by a large business community.

“The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP was unable to demonstrate commitment from the business community and the governance arrangements also gave us cause for concern, and the Derbyshire and Nottingham LEP proposal did not make sufficient linkages with East Staffordshire.”

Chief Executive, Andy O’Brien, added: “Also our local businesses have been involved with the Birmingham LEP from the outset and this is the group that have the knowledge and experiences to decide what the area needs to grow and prosper.

“The Council also has plans in the future to look at the development on the A38 corridor, which is obviously the main route into Birmingham, so there would be a good chance of securing funding to aid this development.