LEP board named as enterprise zone shortlist revealed

THE possible sites for a new enterprise zone in North Yorkshire have been revealed alongside the first private sector board members of the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

David Kerfoot, chief executive of The Kerfoot Group, and former York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce president Shaun Watts, managing director of Chameleon Business Interiors, are among the seven business leaders to be recruited to the board.

They are joined by Professor Colin Mellors, pro-vice chancellor of the University of York, and the leaders of the six council areas covered by the partnership.

The other five private sector members are:

• Neil Warman – Deputy chief executive, HML
• David Bruce – Business services director, Nestle UK
• Nigel Pulling – Chief executive, Yorkshire Agricultural Society
• Dr Ruth Smith – Chief executive, PM Management Consultants
• Robert Miller – managing director, Bluebird Vehicles

LEP chairman Barry Dodd said: “I was totally bowled over by the level of interest and the quality of the people who put themselves forward. As a result, we have been able to put together a very interesting team and one which reflects the diversity of our area in terms of both geography and business type.

“We now have in place a board which not only boasts a high proportion of wealth creators but also includes a charity and covers the full range of business type, from large corporate to very small limited company.

“Our only real gap at this stage is tourism and we will be seeking board permission at our first meeting to co-opt a board member from a front line operating company within the tourism industry.”

The Partnership has also revealed the shortlist of sites it is considering putting forward as a possible enterprise zone.

The sites are:

• Scarborough Business Park
• York Central
• The Heslington East site at the University of York
• Selby by-pass

Enterprise zones are a Government initiative that allow local enterprise partnerships to identify areas that can enjoy a range of benefits including business rate discounts, a simpler planning region and access to superfast broadband.

Ministers have indicated that initially there will be only one enterprise zone per LEP area although partnerships can suggest splitting the zone into smaller parcels of land.