East Staffordshire borough council has confirmed it is to join Birmingham City Region’s proposed Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
The council’s cabinet had looked at three potential LEP’s and rejected forming an LEP with Stoke-on-Trent while also ruling out proposals to join Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire councils to form a single LEP.
Commenting on the move, councillor Richard Grosvenor said the council was opposed to the idea of joining up with neighbouring Stoke-on-Trent because it was “unable to demonstrate commitment from the business community and the governance arrangements also gave us cause for concern”.
Grosvenor said the council believed Birmingham was “strategically large enough to make an impact against other big city LEPs”.
The LEP will replace regional development agency Advantage West Midlands when it becomes obsolete in 2012.
The Birmingham City Region LEP also includes Burton and District Chamber of Commerce, Lichfield and Tamworth and Solihull.
East Staffordshire borough council wants to consider future development on the A38 corridor, the main route into Birmingham, which would require funding.
The deadline for submitting proposals for potential LEP’s is 6 September.
lisa.pilkington@estatesgazette.com
To access all EGi news stories and commercial property data sign up for a free trial today, or visit the subscription options page to find out more.
