Leicester needs to get its mojo back, says Borley
Leicestershire is in danger of losing out on funding and a regional voice if it doesn't create a "clear and focused strategy". That's the opinion of Ian Borley, senior partner of KPMG in Leicester. Borley told Insider the region had "lost momentum", and needed to pick the pace up before it is overtaken by other developing areas.
He said: "Leicester and Leicestershire have a lot to shout about, and as the structure to deliver economic prosperity - LEP and elected mayor - now falls into place, we need to act quickly to make up lost ground.
"Over the past year, the pace of work to drive the sub-region forward relaxed as political changes to the way in which local strategies were delivered were implemented. During this period we lost momentum. We also lost the advantage of having benefited from public and private sectors working well together."
However, Borley said that now the Leicester and Leicestershire LEP was in place with a successful enterprise zone application and a mayor had been elected, the region needed to ensure that "the pace and hunger returns".
"For me, Leicestershire now needs to focus upon what it wants to be known for. We have an opportunity to create centres of excellence, and thought needs to be given to what," he said.
It was announced last month (August) that Hinckley's MIRA Technology Park had been selected as one of 21 enterprise zones across the UK, giving businesses access to relaxed planning laws, tax breaks and superfast broadband.
Borley said that this latest development gave the region a chance to prove what it could become synonymous with.
"For example, outside of London, Leicestershire is home to more design businesses than anywhere else in the UK," he said. "It also boasts a credible presence within the space sector. Home to the National Space Centre, and benefitting from expertise and spin off successes coming out of the local universities, we have a real opportunity to develop a niche corridor to concentrate businesses working in this area."
Borley, who is also chairman of lobbying group Leicestershire Business Voice, said the discussion about marketing Leicestershire needed to be undertaken soon.
"We need a clear and focused strategy to communicate what Leicestershire wants to be known for. Without this, I fear we could lose out on share of voice - and, therefore, money - as other regions ramp up their growth agendas."
