Black Country maintains tough stance over LEPs

BLACK Country business leaders have provoked fresh controversy in the simmering debate on the number and role of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the region.

The Black Country Chamber of Commerce said the area must have its own LEP, despite calls from some regional and national bodies to form a larger West Midlands LEP.

It said the Black Country needed its own LEP because it has its own distinct priorities that need to be addressed to support its local economy.

It said recent comments made by the British Chambers of Commerce nationally at the BIS Select Committee Inquiry were taken out of context and did not reflect the views of real businesses on the ground.

It also refuted claims made by the British Chambers of Commerce that there was a desire locally to form a larger LEP.

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Mike Dell, president of the Black Country Chamber, said: “In the Black Country comprehensive and thorough consultation was carried out amongst the business community. Black Country Chamber has spent several months consulting on what the LEP needs to do differently.

“This culminated in a working conference in August where over 80 leaders from the private sector met to thrash out the finer detail. The outcome was hugely positive and showed the commitment that business has to ensuring that the Black Country recovers its pre-eminence as a centre for enterprise.

“The local authorities were well represented and continue their commitment to ensuring that the Black Country LEP is a major success. We can demonstrate that the Black Country LEP is private sector led, as it is the business community that has determined the LEP boundary and key priorities. While the private sector is resolute in its desire to work with all partners across the West Midlands, the Black Country is overwhelmingly considered to be the right geographical area.”