State of the Region Survey: Yorkshire still the place to do business

THE Yorkshire economy compares more favourably to the rest of the UK but transport and infrastructure issues are holding the region back, according to the latest results from TheBusinessDesk.com’s State of the Region Survey.

Sharing ideas amongst business leaders, who overwhelmingly believe Yorkshire is a good place to do business despite the recession, is also seen as a key driver for improving the culture among organisations, the research found. 

Answering questions on ‘The Region’, 65.5% of respondents think a change in Government will make a difference to the region’s economy.

TheBusinessDesk.com’s first ever State of the Region Survey, which has been completed by hundreds of business leaders, is supported by headline sponsor, law firm DLA Piper, and associate sponsors BDO and Financial Leeds.

The results give a comprehensive view of the business landscape across Yorkshire and the North West.

The top three responses to what issues need to be addressed to further drive growth in the region were transport / infrastructure (40%), inward investment (23%) and business support (14%). Skills / training and urban regeneration were not seen as important issues.

Meanwhile, 37% of respondents believe Yorkshire’s economy fares slightly better than the rest of the UK, 6% think it is performing much better, while 33% said it was the same. Only 1% believe it compares much worse.

Almost a third (30%) want to see business leaders share ideas more, while 21% said business culture could be improved by making access easier to politicians and decision makers. Joint lobbying by business leaders and better networking were also seen as important issues.

Natasha Luther-Jones is a partner within the finance and project’s team at DLA Piper in Leeds.

Ms Luther-Jones, specialises in providing legal advice to large scale publicly funded projects, including two of the largest transport infrastructure projects in the UK, and believes investment in infrastructure remains a key priority for the region.

She said: “Two of the main factors businesses believe will affect growth in the region – transport and a change in Government – are actually linked.

“The belief that a change in Government will bring about growth is not necessarily linked to political priorities, but to the stability that moving past the election will bring to public spending.

“Regardless of the likely cuts to public spending, a lot of project decisions are being put on hold in anticipation of the election. A change in Government – whatever that will bring – will allow the ruling party to focus spending priorities.
 
“The key for Yorkshire will be to make its case for increased investment in key projects. Investment in transport initiatives in Yorkshire is significantly lower than other parts of the UK, despite the fact the region is a major economic centre for the North and offers easy links to Europe.

“As Leeds continues to grow as a business centre, there is a real danger it will be choked by an inefficient transport system.”