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20 September 2013 at 10:00

Over the past decade Liverpool’s renaissance and regeneration has been nothing short of incredible, transforming the city from a decaying and somewhat depressing location that had enjoyed a glorious past, to the vibrant place we see today that can boast, among other things, to being the best visited UK destination in England outside of the capital, with a bright future ahead.

The regeneration momentum continues with the new conference centre; a new hospital; the cruise liner terminal; the green light for Liverpool Waters; new hotels; a revival of the Baltic Triangle; the long overdue redevelopment of the Anfield area and an end in sight to the Great Homer Street project. Next year Liverpool will host the biggest business festival that has been held in the UK since the 1950’s.

The mayor and his team deserve huge credit for spearheading this development drive, particularly against a backdrop of an economy in recession and challenging, some would say savage, cuts to Liverpool City Council’s budget.

It must be frustrating for that team then when a lobby group such as Downtown highlights a city location that has not fared so well.

Before the summer break I raised the increasing concerns of businesses and residents in the Ropewalks area of town. Here we have a place full of character, potential and opportunity. Just over a decade ago, it seemed that the place would take off, with significant investment from a range of public agencies and European monies.

A ‘bohemian’ feel was created, and for a time initiatives such as FACT, East Village and Alma de Cuba overshadowed the dereliction within the locality.

Now though the derelict buildings those property speculators have sat on for thirty years have halted Ropewalks progress. The regeneration of the area has been left unfinished, and as they see the progress that is being made elsewhere in the city it is unsurprising that those who have invested or live in the Ropewalks are becoming agitated.

We all recognise that Liverpool City Council does not have a magic wand that it can wave to sort out what is an extremely difficult problem. However, there needs to be a clear plan of action and a vision for what we are going to do with a part of the city that ought to be another jewel in our crown.

Can we get a dialogue going with those property speculators to find a genuine solution that could involve them? Do we need to come up with an exciting blueprint as we did for the Liverpool One project that can attract a big investor who can then assist with CPO’s where necessary? Can the private sector from across the city help?

Shooting the messenger and levelling personal insults at me may make a councillor feel better about himself, but it is not in keeping with the mature discussion and debate that we have been used to since Joe Anderson’s administration came to power three years ago.

I and more importantly Downtown’s members have been quick to praise and promote the great work that has been undertaken across the city in recent times. Nonetheless, our job is to constructively challenge at times too, and articulate the concerns of our members when they arise. Ropewalks is a case in point. The question now is ‘Can we help?’

19 September 2013 at 09:52

Whatever you thought about the now defunct Business Link, and let’s be honest its performance was hit and miss at best, the fact is that at least it offered an impartial ‘one stop shop’ as a sign posting agency for business support.

The coalition government scrapped Business Link, along with Regional Development Agencies three years ago, and ever since there has been a general concern about the lack of focus as far as business support programmes in the North West is concerned.

Indeed, one of the more regular conversations I have with Downtown members is around their confusion about the myriad of business support projects, initiatives, funding and agencies that have sprung up over the past twenty four months.

The absence of an organisation that can offer you genuine impartial support and guidance on what is out there and what will suit your business best has been sorely missing – until now.

The Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership has launched an absolutely fantastic initiative to help the county’s business community identify what business support exists and how we can access that support. Everything from how to access finance to marketing and sales is covered through the excellent ‘Boost’ project.

Aimed at those entrepreneurial companies who are determined to grow, Boost offers a range of services, including an exciting events programme and a comprehensive website outlining how you can access business advice and support from leading private and public sector agencies.

‘Boost’ is underpinned by the Business Growth Hub, and in the coming months I am confident that this will significantly contribute to the county’s ambitious agenda of economic improvement and an increased appetite to encourage enterprise and entrepreneurship across Lancashire.

As part of the ‘Boost’ events programme Downtown Lancashire has teamed up with Lancashire Business View to host what promises to be a first class conference in the autumn. The ‘Lancashire Business Growth Conference’ will feature presentations from business leaders, academics and decision makers – and offer delegates the opportunity of voicing their opinion on what a ‘growth’ agenda for Lancashire should include.

For details of the conference please visit www.downtownlancashire.com and to learn more about Boost and the Business Growth Hub go to www.boostbusinesslancashire.co.uk.

12 September 2013 at 11:17

When we talk about sustainability, people usually think of the environment and the future of the planet and all things green. But to me, sustainability simply means the ability to keep going, to do what we do and that for me also means providing the services this City and its people need.

Everyone knows by now that our financial problems are as serious as they can be. Because of grant and funding cuts from this coalition government, we have some tough choices ahead. These are extremely challenging times we face, in simple terms if we do nothing we will be spending significantly more on services than we receive through council tax and other income. This scenario will be upon us within two years so it is vital we address the issue now.

Over the last three years the Government has cut £143 million from us and we have managed to protect services and do as much as possible to continue to deliver. We have reduced the workforce by 1600 and we have had to make some very unpalatable decisions. Over the next three years we have to find another £140 million and there is of course less to cut because of previous cuts and so the task is going to be even harder.

There is no question that these cuts are ideological in principal as Local Government is systematically being hit and time after time Government comes back with more cuts and less support. In making that point I know most people in the City agree with me and also agree about the unfairness and unequal way these cuts have been applied meaning the poorest are hit the hardest.

Our City is at a critical juncture as we try to balance rising demand and less resources. The challenges are many, such as caring for a rapidly growing and ageing population and in addition because of the cuts more people are reliant on support and help from us.

There is for us also a need to ensure that our young people are equipped with the social, vocational and educational skills for theirs and our City’s future and the need to adapt and change, responding to developments in communications and technology.

The future is also about regeneration, growth, economic renewal, jobs and housing. All of these things are key components of a City that is sustainable. They are pieces of the jigsaw and each piece as important as the other.

Our response to these challenges will, I believe, lay a foundation for sustainability and transform the way we have done things in the past.

There is a debate taking place about public services and Local Government between all the main parties. It’s about financial devolution and new powers. It may mean Councils have more scope and flexibility to raise revenue and borrow. But that’s for tomorrow and we cannot wait for those closeted in the Westminster bubble and in ignorance and denial about the plight of Cities. They talk the talk about rebalancing the economy and growing Cities but in reality they do nothing, certainly not on the scale, or with the vision, required.

That’s why it’s important that we look at new ways of doing things as a City. Like creating new opportunities and working with the private sector creating growth and jobs. The deals the City has done recently have done just that and there are more to come.

Those in opposition to this approach say its a gamble, but they would say that. The way we need to do things is both imaginative and entrepreneurial. It may be a brave thing to do for me to break the mould of a laissez faire attitude to growth of the past. However, it is not a gamble – I am neither reckless nor a gambler. In all cases there is an internal and external assessment of risk and only when we’re convinced it stacks up financially for you and for our City, will we invest. The returns are threefold.

First it creates a new business and as a direct result we benefit because we will receive business rates.

Secondly, we benefit in a financial sense because of the repayments made back to us on the loan.

Thirdly, it creates jobs and in most cases there is a fourth benefit because it usually involves a derelict building being brought back in to use.

In all commercial dealings we undertake, it is simply to stimulate growth and benefit our City.

We cannot just be gripped by fear, because of the Government cuts or by those who simply want to make a political noise. If we don’t make choices and take decisions on where to go and what to do, we won’t go anywhere and just continue to do nothing. The 35th President of the USA J F Kennedy said ‘Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth’ one of my favourite sayings and so true.

The City Deal negotiated with Government and the Single Investment Pot, the Mayoral Development Zones and Enterprise Zones are helping us create growth and generate investment, so is our borrowing at beneficial rates and investing in development. We call it invest to earn and it works.

Doing nothing is not an option, sustainability has to be worked for. That’s what we are doing.

Joe Anderson

Mayor of Liverpool

6 September 2013 at 10:00

The new chairman of the FA, Gregg Dyke, made an impassioned speech this week, proclaiming that he had set a target for England to reach the Semi Finals of the European Championships in 2020, and to win the World Cup two years later.

He may as well have set a target for the leaders of the world to wipe out poverty, war and bigotry by 2019 while he was at it, because by then Mr Dyke will no longer be the chairman of the FA.

The cynic in me says that this was a former PR guy doing PR well. However, it is fair to say that had he not set any targets then his criticisms of the English game, and his announcement of the establishment of a Commission to tackle the crisis of the English national team, would have looked rather hollow.

The biggest problem Dyke identified was, ironically, the Premier League; ironic because Dyke was one of the key architects behind the ‘breakaway’ group of clubs twenty years ago.

There is no doubt that back then, the English Football League was in the doldrums. Hooliganism, decrepit stadia, falling crowds and a general despair had befallen our ‘beautiful game’.

The Premier League, with the considerable help of Sky TV, has created a new brand that is the country’s most successful export. Many stadia across the country have been modernised, a more family friendly environment has been encouraged, hooliganism is largely a thing of the past, and the ‘product’ has never been as popular.

Inevitably though these positives have brought some negatives too. Less than 40% of Premier League players are English; ticket prices continue to rise; foreign ownership of our top clubs is the norm; and players, alongside their agents, are earning salaries and bonuses that are increasingly being seen as obscene.

Dyke is right to point out that unless the English manager has a bigger and better pool of players to choose from, competing at the highest level then we will struggle to return to our position on the international stage as a major power. The bigger clubs need to invest in young English talent, and then play them in their first teams. It’s not rocket science – but it’s not going to happen.

Unfortunately for FA chairman Greg, media mogul Greg set in train a series of events that now make it impossible to return to the days when our football heroes came from the backstreets of Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester and Preston. Indeed, thankfully, fewer of those backstreets now exist anyway.

Dykes Premier League initiative had consequences. If Sky is to continue to shell out record, mind blowing riches to Premier League clubs, they want ‘their’ league to include the best players from across the globe – not from across the country.

Premier League Football managers now have 24/7 scrutiny of their actions; phone-in’s, Sky Sports news; social media and a host of other pressures mean that they need quick fixes, not potential talent. After only three games so far this season I have laughably heard fans from Man United and Everton suggesting their new Managers are not up to the job!

And does Dyke seriously think that club owners from the USA, the Middle East and the Far East give a stuff about our national team? They care about England as much as Arsene Wenger does I guess.

However, the FA, Dyke and England’s biggest problem is US, the fans.

England is a team supported by Londoners. They play all their home games in London and it is the London media that gets excited about England.

When I hear the news that Ross Barkley has been named in the England squad, my first thought is not ‘Great’, but rather ‘Shit, I hope he doesn’t get injured’.

I guarantee that 99.9% of club supporters in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire would prefer glory for their team rather than their country. That won’t change for sure – not in the North, and not by 2122 never mind 2020!

26 July 2013 at 10:00

In order to grow your business there is one key thing above all others that you need to do – sell. And yet in businesses across the country the term ‘sales’ appears to have become a word that ought to be avoided at all costs.

Instead we talk about growth, deals, winning customers, or – the classic – business development.

At recent Downtown events across the North of England I have posed the simple question ‘who employs sales staff?’ From aggregated audiences of over 300, only 3 hands went up.

I then asked who employs Business Development Managers – there was a much healthier response. But why? In the majority of cases the main priority for BDMs is to sell.

For some reason the UK has developed an aversion to sales people. We think of a salesman as someone who is trying to blag us, rip us off, and sell us something we don’t really need. Sales in this country are caricatured by a Del Boy or an Arthur Daily.

Few people admit to wanting a career in sales, preferring the fluffier Business Development or Marketing badges.

However, businesses only thrive if they are good at selling.

In reality there is an acceptance that selling is important. The most subscribed event during our recent Liverpool Business Week was the ‘sell more stuff’ session. Even so, we shy away from the term and as a result we are encouraging an army of marketers rather than a battalion of salesmen and women to infiltrate our businesses.

We need to re-establish sales as a positive skill. Indeed, good salespeople are few and far between. Selling is becoming a dying art in this country. It needs to be front and centre of the nations drive for economic growth.

I am pleading with you to make your next sales appointment a genuine sales appointment. Call it as it is, not as you fear the outside world may see it. Downtown is about to recruit a head of sales. Expect a call from them soon – and be nice!