McKenna slams Lancashire’s three LEPs plan
PROPOSALS to create three Local Enterprise Partnerships in Lancashire have been slammed by an influential business group.
Frank McKenna, a former politician in Lancashire who now leads the Downtown in Business networking and lobbying group, says moves by East Lancashire and Fylde Coast Councils to bid to run their own LEPs, rather than joining the proposed county-wide model favoured by Lancashire County Council are “absolutely ridiculous”.
He said: “Lancashire councils have once again demonstrated parochialism over pragmatism, and to create a bureaucracy of three partnerships where one would do is a nonsense.
“It will be a right dog’s dinner, and it will once again put the county at a disadvantage in comparison to Manchester and Liverpool who are proposing one LEP for their respective regions.”
Mr McKenna has written to Government ministers Eric Pickles and Mark Prisk to raise his concerns about the way in which the LEP structures are being planned.
He believes that if enough businesses lobby government, then there may be a chance of ministers intervening and imposing a more effective, efficient and business-friendly model in Lancashire.
“The Government has been clear that the new LEPs must have business representation and business support.
“The proposed model coming out from Lancashire certainly contradicts all that I hear from the business community – not just Downtown members, but Chambers of Commerce and other organisations too,” he added.
