[Blabbernsmoke]

Yes, another thread to add to the other 300! However, I believe that this issue above all others is so important to the future of Liverpool that it deserves its own thread. If this city; its leaders, its businesses, its people do not embrace a business-friendly, free enterprise culture the way Manchester has then all of the current developments will ultimately be meaningless.

Public investment, be it in new commercial and residential developments is important for attracting inward investment- but in the long-term Liverpool needs to be energetically marketed as a business friendly place- where it is easy to start a business and easy to run a business- a place where it is easy and worthwhole to invest money. There is NO REASON WHATSOEVER why such a state of affairs cannot be achieved in Liverpool.

There are too many bureaucrats and too much red tape in Liverpool- FACT! Why did the Bank of New York go to Manchester? Why does Manchester tend to attract more private investment than Liverpool?
Because Manchester's council, to their credit, have gone to great lengths to seek the advice of commercial consultants and to market the city as a place to do business. This is the primary reason Manchester is richer than Liverpool.

Read the following article from today's Echo... if these issues aren't urgently addressed then in 30 years we will still be poor and trailing our urban neighbours, CofC or no CorC, Objective 1 or no Objective 1.

'Put quangos on a bonfire' Apr 5 2005


By Neil Hodgson, Liverpool Echo


SMALL business chief Len Collinson has called for a "bonfire of the quangos" on Merseyside.

The Forum of Private Business national chairman says there are too many quangos and publicly-funded agencies and calls for more private sector workers and fewer bureaucrats.

Knutsford-based FPB, with 25,000 members, says apart from council-backed services for business, it has identified at least 17 quangos concerned with regeneration and working with the business community.

These include a Liverpool office of Government Office North West - which employs 19 people - and an office for the Northwest Development Agency.

Mr Collinson, a Merseyside-based businessman, backs a campaign by lobby group Downtown Liverpool in Business against "excessive govern-ment" in the city, saying businesses are fed up with having to deal with so many agencies and quangos.

The excess of public sector bodies was a barrier to inward investment, job creation and regeneration.

"We are concerned the economy of Liverpool is too much weighted towards the public sector. Recent figures showed 38% of Liverpudlians worked for the state, compared with a national average of 25%."

"We know productivity in the public sector has fallen by 10% since 1997.

"One of the problems in Merseyside is that the increase in gross added value is from the public sector and gross added value in public sector jobs is lower than gross added value in manufacturing jobs."

Businesses resented the fact that quangos took key decisions behind closed doors and there was little opportunity for the business community to make its voice heard before decisions were taken.

"Complexity and a lack of transparency and accountability make it hard for local business people and residents to influence events.

"If Liverpool is to prosper, we need more workers in the private sector, less bureaucrats and a simplified system of government help that the wealth creators find easy to access."

 

[Accura4Matalan]

Liverpool is neither capital of enterprise or capital of red tape. I can see exactly where this is going...

 

[Blabbernsmoke]

Preston- I don't have a clue what you're talking about. I wasn't speaking literally with the title, nor am I trying to make any political statements. I want to discuss something that causes me great concern and which I believe is important to the city's future development. I'm sure anybody who cares about Liverpool's future will have something meaningful to add, or suggest, on the topic.

 

[liverpolitan]

A tricky one, there is a lot of public money going in, and a need to spend that wisely and accountably, so its hardly surprising a lot of agencies are present on the ground.

It probably could do with tidying up, and certainly external representation is a total mess. Doesn't help that tourism is officially regionalised now, with the ludicrous "England's North West" concept and campaign that doesn't even apply to a real region (real as in accepted by those who supposedly live in it).

I am not sure it is true that Manchester's public agencies have actually been smarter or more streamlined than in other places, the city has locational advantages for some businesses and has enjoyed some good fortune in recent years. There are other cities that might be regarded as having enjoyed better quality co-ordination of public and business support agencies - such as Sheffield - that have failed to attract many quality private sector relocations. So we should be careful about putting two and two together and making five here, the business support and public agencies may have been piss poor but a business was just going to go there anywhere.

There is a lot of boasting in regeneration and local government, and bandwagons - thus if a city has a spot of luck or good fortune and receives a couple of prestige projects, suddenly the sun shines out of the public agencies who were around to take the call and send out the leaflet etc.

Don't you think that if the Chinese car company had done a deal with Rover in the past week, that Government ministers, Advantage West Midlands (the West Midlands RDA) and everyone else with a potential stake would have been crowing about how they had secured this triumph for Birmingham and the UK? Because the talks have stalled, there is not a peep - people walk away and say "nothing to do with me" when things don't go so well. So we don't have to suffer any nauseating full page adverts in The Economist from Advantage West Midlands crowing about how they have secured "World Class Leadership in Auto Engineering for a World Class Region" or whatever insane bullshit they would have used public money to boast with if a deal had gone through.

 

[Accura4Matalan]

Although unrealistic, the englandsnorthwest group has poured a lot of money into Liverpool and promote it far more than they do Manchester. The same goes for the Lake District.

 

[Blabbernsmoke]

I'm not sure that Manchester has a locational advantage in attracting big banks (for example)- most of their business is done electronically. And Liverpool has a locational advantage in other respects, e.g. as a port. I really do think that the enterprise culture could be stronger in Liverpool- just look how much employment is dependent on the public sector. Just to take a random example, look on the Royal Town Planning Institute website- and go to the consultancies section. Liverpool has the same number as Warringotn and Chester- Manchester has a about 10 times as many as the three put together.

 

[Blabbernsmoke]

Look at West Tower and BQ- the former only just got passed and look at the way Maro has been treated for wanting to build a world class structure in the city- no public dole money needed!- it gets turned down.
... fuckin 'ell what a goal 2 NIL OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...Sorry, and didn't the Bank of New York initially favour Liverpool- what ****-up went on there?

 

[kung_fuzi]

Liverpool is neither capital of enterprise or capital of red tape. I can see exactly where this is going...

Yes? Tell us please.

 

[scouserdave]

... fuckin 'ell what a goal 2 NIL OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...Sorry, and didn't the Bank of New York initially favour Liverpool- what ****-up went on there?

LOL! :hahaha:

 

[Blabbernsmoke]

Rates likely to rocket Apr 6 2005

By Sophie Freeman, Daily Post


BUSINESSES in Merseyside are facing crippling rate increases as a result of the region's regeneration and the successful Capital of Culture bid.

Rates could rise by up to 40% for some businesses in the city.

The new ratings list, which comes into effect month, reflects the huge increases in commercial property rents in Liverpool over the past few years.

Martin Howard, a partner of property agents Knight Frank in Liverpool, said: "These inflation-busting rises are down to the continuing successful regeneration of Liverpool and the Merseyside region, which has seen rental levels rise significantly.

He added: "The successful Capital of Culture bid has also had a big impact. Areas in Liverpool will see rises of up to 40% in the office market alone.

"Retailers will also be hit hard with shops in Church Street facing rises of up to 55% and department stores such as BHS rising 31%. Industrial occupiers outside of the city centre can also expect similar increases."

Neil Kirkham, associate partner at Liverpool commercial property consultants Hitchcock Wright and Partners, said: "There are a couple of properties that I've just put on the market which have seen a 50-80% increase in their rateable value."

But he is confident that the increase in rates will not deter potential tenants.

"You've got to look at the bigger picture. Liverpool is still at a lower base rate in terms of combined rent, rates and service charge, than alternatives such as Manchester. So the overall

occupancy costs will still be significantly less than counterpart cities and therefore we are still good value."

Last month, the Government announced that new arrangements would make the system both faster and fairer for businesses wishing to appeal against their rates.

Ratepayers have been able to appeal against their valuations in the past but for a limited period. Under the new system, businesses will be able to appeal against the rates at any time during the five year life of the rating list and any change in value will be backdated.

 

[kung_fuzi]

If a business doesn't make any extra money how can you justify increasing rates?
Same goes for home owners if the value of your house goes up but your income doesn't why should the rates increase?
Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Gareth]

At the end of the day, large companies that have offices/stores in most cities will just pay it. Such companies are used to paying such amounts with having a presence in the likes of London, Birmingham & Manchester, with Liverpool still intending to be lower than these. It's the small, local businesses who will get bamboozled from this.

 

[Pietari]

Marketing Liverpool given mandate to think big.....

Source LEP: 01/08/13


Marketing Liverpool given mandate to think big

A ground-breaking agreement has been signed between Liverpool Vision and Liverpool City Region LEP which sees the secondment of 11 staff posts to Marketing Liverpool, the recently-created body tasked with promoting the City Region to the world.

The LEP staff will work for two years with Liverpool Vision’s communications team in delivering a Place Marketing Strategy for the City Region under proposals agreed with key stakeholders earlier this year.

The move is designed to ensure major global opportunities such as the International Festival for Business 2014 offer maximum economic return for the entire City Region.

The LEP will retain its overall responsibility for the strategic development of the City Region Place Marketing Strategy, which includes the Visitor Economy and other key growth sectors, with responsibility for marketing the destination being undertaken by Marketing Liverpool.

The LEP and its partners have commissioned Marketing Liverpool to deliver a range of activities to promote the City Region with Liverpool as the agreed ‘attack’ brand.

The functions to be delivered under the agreement include:

•Management of the Visit Liverpool Website and associated activity
•Overseas and domestic marketing
•Liverpool Convention Bureau activity
The agreement comes in the wake of the LEP securing an additional sum of £2.15m from the European Regional Development Fund to boost the Visitor Economy, part of which has been allocated to the development of the Place Marketing Strategy.

Robert Hough, Chairman of Liverpool City Region LEP, said: “The Visitor Economy is one of Liverpool City Region’s greatest strengths and of profound importance to our economy. As a sector, it has the talent, the assets and the ambition. Now it can properly set out the direction.

“What we are creating in effect is a ‘one stop shop’ for investors, visitors and conference organisers. This new co-ordinated approach is to fulfil shared aims to grow the sector still further which will benefit the whole city region. It is a huge positive step forward.

“We have listened to the private sector and we will now develop a plan with their significant input that will bring great economic benefit.”

Max Steinberg, Chief Executive of Liverpool Vision, said: “The LEP team has both knowledge and experience of successful destination marketing and has delivered international and national campaigns across a range of media and combined with the expertise at Liverpool Vision means that we will now deliver a greater impact.

“Marketing Liverpool can now press ahead to ensure close and meaningful integration between the City Region’s economic development, cultural and marketing teams to deliver major projects, events and initiatives as well as a common vision.”

“The prize is great. This new approach to marketing our unique and diverse assets will help accelerate growth and job creation for the benefit of future generations.”

The move has been welcomed by the private sector stakeholders who have long voiced their concern at the City Region’s disjointed approach to selling the offer and opportunities that exist.

Jeanette Kehoe-Perkinson, Chair of the LEP’s Management Implementation Group, said: “This agreement has acknowledged the need for a broad city region marketing strategy to eliminate the duplication of effort that has existed for too long, and to create one “go to” regional marketing body which will end stakeholder confusion

“Crucially, it gives Marketing Liverpool the resources and a mandate to think big and match the scale of our ambition. Marketing the significant assets and strategy of the whole City Region will allow us to compete more effectively on the world stage, to be recognised as a top international destination in which to live, work, invest, study and to visit.”