'Brand Birmingham' will attract investment, says Street
Birmingham's international reputation could be the city local enterprise partnership's (LEP) key to securing investment, according to the organisation's boss. Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis and chairman of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, told Insider that rather than belonging to an unidentifiable West Midlands tag, 'Brand Birmingham' has "a coherent image, something that we can work with".
Street, who was appointed to the head of the LEP in April this year, said: "The West Midlands did not have a real identity but Brand Birmingham has a coherent image, something that we can work with.
"Rather than just a name that doesn't mean anything, particularly abroad, Birmingham has a reputation and an image that we can use to attract investment."
Street said the form of the LEP - which also includes East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth - came together without any major issues.
"There were no birth pangs as such – the natural economic shape of our LEP, came together very quickly and very easily. We managed to put together a board that represented both the business and geographic reach of the area," he said.
Although the region's LEPs face implementing their plans and strategies with little legal and less financial clout than their predecessors the regional development agencies, Street said his LEP’s strength will come by bringing co-ordination to "1,000 different organisations each banging the drum for Birmingham".
He also said that the introduction of enterprise zones across the country could determine the true power held by the LEPs.
Greater Birmingham and Solihull has submitted proposals to form its enterprise zone – one of ten guaranteed a spot in the government's coveted list of 21 potential sites – in Birmingham city centre. Plans for an enterprise belt around the zone have also been put forward to the government.
The enterprise belt would cover southern Staffordshire and northern Worcestershire as well as the 'M42 growth corridor' in Solihull.
"That could be our real power," said Street. "Income generated by the zones and the LEPs deciding where it will go. Our plan is to use money generated by the enterprise zone to fund other projects in a ring around the partnership, and enterprise belt for prime investment.
"It would be a substantial amount – tens of millions of pounds would be the right region – and we would have to change the way we operate to accommodate it."
