Survey set to inform county's business future

The Red Rose Business Survey will be launched in March and will collate intelligence, data and information that will help to inform the Local Enterprise Partnership and other policy making bodies in the region.

The survey will be circulated to businesses from across the county, and Downtown chairman Frank McKenna said that it would build on the work that had been undertaken through the Lancashire Business Survey in the previous three years.

He said: "The Lancashire Business Survey was useful, and had certainly gained momentum by the time we held the survey results event with the Bank of England towards the back end of last year. However, alongside our partners Forbes, we felt that it was time to give the survey a bit of a revamp, and we are delighted that leading business publication Lancashire Business View have come on board to support the project."

Andrea Stamp from Forbes added: "We feel it's important to offer the Lancashire business community a platform to have a say and put forward their thoughts and opinions on the issues that affect them. The survey has enabled that to happen in recent years and we'd like to encourage more of Lancashire's businesses to get involved and have their say in the newly branded survey."

Lancashire Business View's Richard Slater said: "The magazine is looking forward to working alongside Downtown and Forbes and helping to generate a significant interest in this important project. We know that Lancashire firms are not short of opinions. This survey gives businesses across the whole of the county the opportunity to express their views first hand - and have them heard."

The Business Survey will be formally launched in the Spring.