Changing Places event held on 13 May 2010 at the National Space Centre - Summary and feedback

DO YOUR BIT TO DESIGN OUR IDEAL CITY
Article published in the Leicester Mercury - June 2010

Ian Borley - Chairman of LBV and Senior Partner of KPMG, Leicester

If a business person could design an ideal city, what attributes would it include?

A central location in the country perhaps, with easy access to the motorway network, fast rail connection to London and two international airports less than an hour away?
Or how about a city surrounded by beautiful countryside and commuter villages, with a commute time into the city centre of less than an hour - and no congestion charges.
Maybe access to 55,000 students in three local universities is important to a business?
Sounds familiar?

Leicester has a great deal to be proud of and I couldn’t agree more with comments made recently by outgoing Highcross general Manager, Tom Nathan, who said you would struggle to find a better place to live, and highlighted the success of regeneration projects, such as Highcross, in attracting people to the city from far and wide.
Our neighbour, Nottingham, increasingly looks at Leicester with envy.  Yet are we proud enough of our city and county?  Does the business community do its bit to promote the city to contacts?  I think not.

I’ve worked in Leicester for 25 years and, like Tom, it still surprises me how downbeat local people can be about the place.
You only have to read the letters page of the Leicester Mercury to prove my point.

Is it all perfect?  Of course not.  We have some real challenges to take on - both in the short term and the long term.
In the short term, the closure of AstraZeneca in Loughborough could substantially reduce the critical mass of the business community.
We need to attract businesses to the area as a matter of urgency - and this won’t be helped by funding being pulled from important project such as the railway station redevelopment and the science park by the National Space Centre.

In the longer term, we need to differentiate Leicester and Leicestershire as a destination for the growing, successful businesses of the future.
To do that, we need a clear and ambitious economic development strategy - something that Leicestershire Business Voice has been calling for sometime.
I’m delighted Leicestershire Business Council will be working with local government in doing just this.  This will benefit from input from all local businesses to help design the ideal city for your business needs.