Business leaders urge councils to embrace devolution

CHESHIRE and Warrington businesses have written an open letter urging council leaders to “seize” the chance to embrace devolution and an elected mayor.

But they also stress the need to secure a “deal at pace” to unlock millions of funding while it is still available.

Warrington Borough Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cheshire East Council are currently working together, alongside Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, to secure a devolution agreement with government.
They believe it would give the area more say in its own future and more power to improve the things that matter to residents and businesses like transport, the economy, and job opportunities.
In an open letter, the Cheshire Business Advisory Board- with representation from sectors spanning life sciences, education, energy, tourism, digital and several business representative organisations such as the Cheshire Chambers and CBI, threw their weight behind the devolution push.
The board’s chairman, Steve Purdham, one of the co-founders behind cybersecurity firm SurfControl Plc, said: “Fundamentally, the business community supports Cheshire & Warrington Devolution and the swift election of a Mayor at the earliest possible time.
“Devolution offers the single most significant mechanism we have seen to shape the prosperity of Cheshire & Warrington’s residents and businesses over the next five, ten and twenty years.”
The letter highlights the need to move quickly to avoid seeing financial settlements shrink in future, stressing “funding reserved for mayoral areas is being allocated now” and “every month of hesitation is a month in which real money, jobs and projects flow to our neighbours instead of to Cheshire & Warrington”.

Devolution, the letter states, would see:
• Guaranteed multiyear investment – every mayoral area secures long-term, multimillion pound settlements for transport, brownfield development and skills, funding streams we cannot access today.
• Decisions made locally – a Mayor lets people who understand our economy set priorities on infrastructure, workforce, housing and investment.
• Keeping pace with our neighbours – Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and others are already turning devolved powers into jobs, better services and greater investment.
Mr Purdham concludes: “We are ready to work with the councils and a future Mayor to ensure benefits reach every town, village, community and business.
“We encourage you and all your elected councillor colleagues to put place before politics and seize this opportunity now. In a time of national economic challenge and global uncertainty there is no time to wait.”
For more information about the Cheshire and Warrington devolution programme, visit: [http://?]cheshireandwarringtondevolution.com
For more information about the Cheshire & Warrington Business Advisory Board visit: [http://?]www.cwbab.com