Lancashire’s top businesses gather for City Deal discussion

23 Feb 2016

More than 100 Lancashire business representatives gathered to discuss the opportunities presented by the City Deal, which is set to boost the county economy by £1bn.

The Question Time-style panel event was hosted by Lancashire Business View in association with the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Preston and South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal.

Funded by Central Government to the tune of £430m, City Deal’s aims include:

Creating 20,000 jobs
Stimulating £1bn of new economic activity
Developing 10 million sq ft of commercial space
Building 17,000 new homes

Jim Carter said: “The LEP has looked at what Lancashire has to offer when attracting investors in to the county. Our research found we have very friendly people, it’s a great place to live and you get great value for money.

Anna Doran said: “There’s a warmth and friendliness in Lancashire and we’re amazingly located within the UK. You can be in Scotland or in London in around two hours. Why wouldn’t you live and do business here?

Stephen Gregson said: “It’s not simply about rallying people to work in Lancashire; it’s about dispersing out elsewhere. The education institutions that we have are a really important draw and there’s a really good offer here.

“It’s how you communicate the belief and love for the area. This is the best place in the country to do business. Everything is linked, it’s like a family, and we’re perfectly situated geographically.”

Dr John Lonsdale said: “The area has a great infrastructure, great people and has great educational infrastructure as well. So Lancashire in general has many natural advantages over other areas, it’s the place to be for business.

Richard Slater, publisher of Lancashire Business View, said: “Events like this help the business and public sector communities to learn from each other and share ideas. “Creating a better understanding of what’s happening on the ground is good for business.”