Give us AWM assets, says Marches LEP
The councils behind the Marches local enterprise partnership bid want to be given the local assets of former regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM). The Marches LEP bid brings together Telford & Wrekin, Shropshire and Herefordshire local authorities and, speaking at Insider’s Shropshire Economic Forum in Telford yesterday, Tom McCabe, director of development services at Shropshire Council, outlined what the bid is based on.
“We have specifically asked for AWM assets, Homes and Communities Agency assets, decision making around European money and business support,” he said. “We don’t want all that to be effectively repatriated to Whitehall. It was difficult enough at times to get our hands on that when it was managed from Birmingham. The concern is that if that goes down to London the assets will be sold off in a fire sale.
"It wouldn’t be good for economic development if it was, say, a foreign venture capital fund which ends up owning some important economic development assets here. We need to use the AWM assets to help stimulate the economy.”
Also speaking at the event - attended by more than 80 businessmen and women - was Councillor Eric Carter, cabinet member for regeneration housing and prosperity at Telford & Wrekin Council.
He said he thinks the Marches LEP bid has a good chance of succeeding. “I think the strength of our bid is that it represents three unitary authorities,” he said. “Those three authorities have a number of things in common. They are predominantly rural - although there is an urban element to it in Telford - and tourism is one of the common areas.” Carter said that, if successful, the LEP needs to be business friendley. “What is important for the private sector is that they don’t want a talking shop and to have to bid through half a dozen organisations to get any funding that is available,” he said.
Keith Greetham, chairman of Southwater Event Group - which owns Telford’s International Centre where the forum was staged - said: “From my perspective what we are looking for is a shared vision between the public sector, private sector and universities…….we want action, we want speed and we want the money to be spent in the place that’s going to give the best multiplier.”
