TOP business people in Yorkshire will formally form their own company this Saturday to give voice and strategy to enterprise in the county.
The new venture is being led by Barry Dodd, managing director of label and nameplate manufacturer the GSM Group of Thirsk who is also a member of the board of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.
It is being backed by the University of York, the Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce, the regional CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses as well as top professional services firms.
A website is to be launched by the as-yet unnamed Community Interest Company (CIC) some time next week to elicit the views of the entire regional business community.
Its formation comes in the wake of the announcement by the coalition government that it is to scrap regional development agencies and wants business leaders and local authorities to set up local enterprise partnerships (LEPs).
Mr Dodd stressed that the company is not being formed to bypass LEPs or local authorities.
He said: “LEPs are a good idea but there are some things that need to be done on a bigger scale.
“This is not a Yorkshire Forward mark two. We will be co-ordinating with LEPs and local authorities to ensure that this is a cost-effective operation not cost additive.
“My phone has not stopped with big names in Yorkshire asking how they can help. I have not had a single negative reaction from the business community.”
He said that, with the help of the website, new ideas would be collated for a single regional bid.
By the time a meeting on Saturday night forms the company a mere 21 days will have elapsed since the first meeting took place.
About 20 business people and others formed working groups to discuss new innovations to achieve growth. All the groups’ conclusions will be put to a meeting on Saturday night.
“The speed of the process is what the private sector does,” said Mr Dodd. “The result will be good enough to put out to public consultation.”
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