Enterprise partnership backers call for business and council support

A GROUP looking to create a new Yorkshire-wide partnership as part of the shake-up following the abolition of Yorkshire Forward are set to pitch the idea to council leaders next week.

The movers behind the Yorkshire Enterprise Partnership will ask council leaders to support the idea as part of their own plans for a series of new local enterprise partnerships to replace the outgoing regional development agency.

LEPs are the new Government’s idea for bringing councils and business together to promote economic development. Two are already taking shape based on the Leeds and Sheffield City Regions and a third will see Hull and East Riding Councils joining forces to take on some of Yorkshire Forward’s functions.

But a group of influential figures are arguing that some areas, such as promoting the Yorkshire brand and helping businesses access funding, would benefit from a region-wide approach.

Barry Dodd, chairman of GSM Group and one of the figures behind the YEP idea, said: “This would fit alongside the LEPs in that there are some things that it is obvious are better delivered on a pan-Yorkshire basis. Carbon capture and storage, as just one example, is too big for one LEP.

“Similarly, the Department for Business have said they are going to take back certain powers to Whitehall and we need to have a Yorkshire delivery service for those.”

Mr Dodd insisted that YEP would not be a direct replacement for Yorkshire Forward but issues such as supporting innovation and providing intelligence to businesses in the region were too important to be dealt with on an “ad hoc basis”.

The YEP would be a not-for-profit “community interest company” led by a chief executive working with a “handful of direct employees” overseen by a board of 13 members.

Ministers have asked council leaders to submit proposals for local enterprise partnerships by September 6. Next week’s meeting will see councils asked to include the YEP as part of the LEP proposals.

Two websites are due to be launched this week that will allow people to read more about the YEP idea and make their views known. They can be found at www.bigconversationyorkshire.org and www.yorkshirebusinessvoice.org.

Does Yorkshire need a region-wide enterprise partnership in addition to the local enterprise partnerships already taking shape across Yorkshire? Leave your comments below.