3:00pm Wednesday 1st September 2010
By Helen Perkins
A QUESTION mark hangs over the future of economic support for Cumbrian businesses.
The government wants local councils and private groups to form Local Enterprise Partnerships to replace regional developments, but one influential South Lakeland business leader is warning of potential pitfalls for the county.
Peter Hensman, chairman of Kendal Futures, said Cumbria was likely to have one of the smallest LEPs in the country, with a population of 500,000, if plans were finalised.
Mr Hensman said: “If we don’t have a strong LEP for Cumbria, small businesses won’t get their fair share of assistance.
“My worry is that urban areas like Manchester will be creaming off more than their share of central funds.
"Until we know how much authority LEPs will be given by London, we don’t know how powerful these bodies will be.”
Previously the NWDA managed a funding budget for the North West area, including Cumbria, Lancashire, Liverpool, and Manchester, of around £50m per year.
LEPs will not manage a regional budget but will, instead, have to compete nationally for a share of a £1bn central fund over two years.
South Lakeland District Council leader Brendan Jameson said: “We didn’t see much of the NWDA’s £50m budget spent in south Cumbria, so I think we will have to be pushy to get a good deal for the county.”
Others have expressed concern that areas like Cumbria, with a large percentage of trade created through small agricultural and tourism-based businesses, would struggle to be represented.
At an SLDC cabinet meeting, associate director David Sykes said: “Small South Lakeland businesses are going to find it difficult to make time to sit on an LEP board.”
In a single letter of guidance to councils and business groups hoping to construct their own LEPs, Government ministers Vince Cable and Eric Pickles said they thought several areas, such as business support and inward investment, would be best dealt with nationally.
Mr Hensman said: “Business needs are different here than in London, but will they understand that?
"In my experience the answer is ‘no’. The more we can do locally the better.”
Other leading figures for the county hoped the formation of LEPs might offer an opportunity to improve representation for local businesses.
Federation of Small Businesses’ Kendal secretary Brian Harrison said: “We were never asked by the NWDA how money would best help companies and yet we represent 850 members.
"We need to have a stronger voice because small business has been discrim-inated against in the past.”
Mr Jameson added: “The Government guidelines mention we should ask Cumbria Chamber of Commerce to help represent business, but we feel the National Farmers’ Union and the Federation of Small Businesses are just as important.”
The county will present its ideas to the government by Monday.
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