New board in Gloucestershire will boost growth of business

Over the last 12 years our Local Enterprise Partnership in Gloucestershire, GFirstLEP, was by any yardstick pretty successful.

And so, having been involved in the organisation for some years as director of Business West in Gloucestershire, I was not alone in expressing concern about the future voice of business when the previous government decided that the LEPs were to be scrapped.

Business West believes that the voice of business had to be heard and continue to be heard in any change to the organisation’s remit, which had attracted over £113 million of investment into the county from central government since its inception in December 2014.

That’s why I welcome last week’s announcement that Gloucestershire County Council are creating a new Economic Growth Board to replace the GFirstLEP board of which I was vice chair. I have been invited to join the new board as Gloucestershire director for Business West.

The Conservative government guidance on the integration of LEPs outlined the need for the county council to ensure the continuation of strong business representation and the embedding of an independent and diverse local business voices by establishing an Economic Growth Board.

I applaud our county council for not dilly dallying on this. They very quickly integrated the GFirstLEP team into their Shire Hall headquarters.

And they then launched a process to recruit members for the new board.

Yes, initially, I was concerned that a board headed up by the Leader of the county council, Mark Hawthorne, and not an independent business chair might well muzzle that vital business voice.

But the new board members from right across the Gloucestershire business spectrum have convinced me that the business voice will be heard loud and clear and not be in any way muzzled.

And I quote leader Mark Hawthorne on that conclusion when he says of the new board: ”They will ensure that the voice of business is heard and helped to drive sustainable growth in Gloucestershire”.

The board’s key role will be to have economic oversight of the county’s Growth Hub network, inward investment, the sector specific business groups and Made in Gloucestershire, the county’s food and drink initiative.

Business West believes economic growth will not be easy but I am confident that this new board will work hard to make a real difference.

GFirstLEP did just that and we need to ensure that determination to be a clear voice for business is upheld.