Businesses help shape future council work

(From left): Mandy Thorn, chair of Shropshire Business Board; Richard Sheehan, managing director of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise; Councillor Steve Davenport, chairman of the scrutiny committee; Mark Pembleton, service manager for business and enterprise; and James Gollins, of the Federation of Small Businesses.

Shropshire’s “entrepreneurial spirit” remains as strong as ever despite the current tough economic conditions, business leaders have told councillors.

Shropshire Council’s enterprise and growth scrutiny committee have been debating the economy of the county with representatives from the business community, who were invited to speak to councillors to help shape future council policy.

Members were joined at their meeting on Friday (13 January 2012) by Mandy Thorn, chair of Shropshire Business Board; Richard Sheehan, managing director of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise; and James Gollins, of the Federation of Small Businesses.

They said:

“We were very pleased to offer our experience of how businesses are doing in the current climate, and to talk to councillors about how the council can support businesses to help them flourish.  It was a very constructive meeting and lots of useful points were made and taken on board.”

Among the topics discussed were the need to support start-up businesses, the importance of engaging with big businesses to encourage them to move to Shropshire, and the issues of improving broadband provision and reviewing car parking charges.

Business leaders gave a thorough overview of the current economic situation in Shropshire, saying there was both good and bad news.  Although the high level of companies going out of business could not be ignored, there was still a strong number of businesses starting up, they said.

Chairman of the scrutiny committee, Councillor Steve Davenport, said:

“I thought it was important to invite some of our leading business people to come and give us an insight into what’s happening out there in the real world.  The meeting was extremely interesting and helpful, and was a great example of how scrutiny committees are now working with experts from the private sector to help shape the council’s future work.”