Send to Friend
Black Country Economic Forum 2010
More than 100 business people attended Insider’s Black Country Forum at The Public arts centre in West Bromwich on 28 May and heard a lively discussion focusing on manufacturing and regeneration.
Reflecting on the actions of the new government, local industrialist Stewart Towe - managing director of Hadley Group - noted we haven’t yet heard a lot about wealth creation as opposed to spending cuts. “The political will all seems to be about what you’re going to stop doing rather than how you are going to create wealth and encourage business and innovation. I’m hoping that we will begin to see more initiatives which relate to that key area,” he said. “And on policy I would like to see a clear passageway for the voice of the West Midlands to reach Whitehall.”
Mike Dell, president, Black Country Chamber of Commerce, told the audience that the challenge for the business community is to get rid of the myriad of different groups that have grown up and to have one voice that fights for the whole of the West Midlands. “We’ve got to encourage the big companies to look closer to home and we’ve got let our customers know that we are still around and are still open for business,” he said.
Professor Ian Oakes, pro-vice chancellor, research and enterprise, at the University of Wolverhampton, said he is concerned about cuts in the higher education sector. “Raising tuition fees will have an impact on the number of people going to university. Ultimately that will clearly have an impact on the region,” he said.
Cllr Darren Cooper, leader of Sandwell Borough Council, told the audience it is crucial that some sort of partnership is put together to aid regeneration. “People have looked at this building (The Public) and said ‘why do you want to build a £50m building in West Bromwich?’ but the bottom line is it is investment coming into the area and other investment has followed it. But we need to talk with other colleagues to get things done,” he said.
Please complete the following fields to send the details of this item to your friend: