City’s momentum needs to ‘build growth in the right way’

Business leaders from across the city believe Birmingham has the momentum to be resilient through Brexit-related bumps.

However there are concerns from senior people in the public and private sectors about how successful Birmingham is being at delivering inclusive growth.

It is a key issue for many cities, and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street set up an inclusive growth unit within the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in May to drive this agenda.

Deborah Cadman

WMCA chief executive Deborah Cadman, speaking at a round table discussion held by TheBusinessDesk.com and EY, captured the tone of cautious optimism in the group, that balanced an upbeat view of the region’s prospects with a nervousness about factors outside its control.

She said: “I think this region will probably be more resilient than others in weathering the Brexit storm.

“I’m tentatively optimistic about next year as long as, as a region, we can keep focused on the things that are going to build resilience in our economy and support the right things that.”

However she warned that the region must “make sure that the growth is the right growth” so that everyone can share in the improvements.

She said: “The thing that I’m less optimistic about is in our pursuit of economic growth, I’m worried that we will lose sight of building growth in the right way.”

Jason Wouhra, director of Birmingham food manufacturer East End Foods, is excited about the energy and excitement within the city. But he believes the region will miss out on a large talent pool if it doesn’t engage properly with disconnected communities.

“Tapping into the people who might not be so fortunate as we are will be a big plus point because they have a lot to offer,” he said.

“I’m involved with a few things around the city around child poverty and I think that energising those communities who are seeing themselves as a little bit less fortunate would tap into a big power reserve to to help grow the region and the city.”

Prof Kiran Trehan

Prof Kiran Trehan, who specialises in leadership and enterprise development at the University of Birmingham, is “optimistic about the potential of the leadership in this region” to address this gap.

She was part of the West Midlands Leadership Commission which spent nearly a year researching and analysing data about current leadership and identifying the blockages that prevent it being more representative.

“The leadership needs to not only advance the economic agenda, but also advance the social, the political, and the cultural so that we’re working collectively together,” said Prof Trehan. “Embedded in that needs to be a leadership that represents the future.

“We are a region everybody’s talking about. I’m optimistic that this will be a region that people are not just talking about but they’re emulating so we become the place people want to come and learn from because we’re walking the talk.”

The progress has been helped by the momentum that has developed since the delivery of Grand Central, including work ahead of the arrival of HSBC, HMRC’s regional hub and HS2, and the region being awarded UK City of Culture 2021 and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“Paradoxically the point of greatest optimism for me is also what I think is the greatest challenge,” said Tim Pile, chairman of Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership.

“I’m really optimistic that we will as a region continue to drive momentum in 2019 – and momentum is the key word.

“It’s also the single biggest challenge against the headwinds of various things beginning with ‘B’, maintaining that momentum is the challenge. But I am deeply optimistic that we will do that.”

Simon O’Neill

Simon O’Neill, managing partner for EY in the Midlands, said: “The momentum here is the joining up that’s going on.

“I look forward to having some certainty around Brexit, which will help everyone move on because at the moment a number of the businesses we work with are living day to day.

“We need to get through that period in early April and then get back to what businesses here doing really well.”

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, was also positive about the region’s ability to deliver on its ambitions.

He said: “We’ve got a great set of ingredients here and bring it on. I think it’s there to be done, we’ve got a great set of ingredients here, we’ve got to go out and make it happen – and I think we will.”