'Give business role in power'

Jun 25 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

TALK to anyone about the state of Newcastle’s city centre in 1980 and the picture they’ll paint won’t be pretty. The image will be solid, workmanlike and industrial, and certainly not one of the IT-fuelled global service-based economy that was emerging elsewhere, although in truth, it wasn’t too different from many other city centres at the time.

Then in 1980, Urban Development Corporations (UDCs) sprang up across the nation, courtesy of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act.

Their job was to bring land and buildings into effective use, establishing the platform from which the transformation of some of our most famous city centres has taken place.

The UDCs may have had a limited lifespan, but their legacy remains.

The remnants of the region’s industrial and shipping heritage that were at the heart of our city are now galleries, cafes and restaurants.

Recent developments include the Grade II-listed bonded warehouse on the Quayside, which has been transformed into 174 luxury apartments. This is a private sector initiative, whereas other regeneration projects, such as the conversion in the 1990s of The Customs House in South Shields into an arts and entertainment centre, have been publicly funded.

So where is the balance between private and public sector funding, and what role does business have to play in the regeneration of Newcastle?

Well, things are set to take a different direction, and it is possible that the role of business will no longer be one of seeking funding and waiting on planning permission – a more proactive proposition beckons.

A recent report from the British Chambers of Commerce gives a range of first-hand accounts of how the business community has worked with local authorities and regeneration agencies to drive economic success in cities across the UK.

The report argues that, to deliver further gains, spread prosperity across communities and allow cities to compete in the global market place, these partnerships should be formalised through a devolution of resources and autonomy to sub-regional level. This would give local councils and business groups the scope to work together in addressing key priorities, including workforce training, and developing transport infrastructure, and would also give a voice to stakeholders from across city regions, including local authorities and business groups from city centre and hinterland areas.

There are obviously many challenges still to be met, but by striking up strong working relationships, business groups and local authorities in many areas have been able to lay the foundations for success, developing the infrastructure needed for investment and growth.

The beating heart of any city’s economy is its business community, and the financial success it produces is its lifeblood.

Making sure that this community has a crucial role to play in the city’s continuing renaissance is a key challenge for our public administrators, and one that must be successfully met to ensure the maximum possible benefits for all of us that call Newcastle home.

• Paul Tognarelli is senior manager of corporate business at Allied Irish Bank (GB) in Newcastle