Dear Editor,
As committed business leaders across Cheshire and Warrington, we support the proposed devolution deal as a vital step toward securing a brighter, locally driven future.
Devolution offers the chance to boost jobs, unlock investment, and improve public services – ensuring decisions are made by those who know our communities best.
Business is about pragmatism, not party politics. Viewed through that lens, devolution offers the single most significant mechanism to shape the prosperity of Cheshire and Warrington’s residents and businesses over the coming years.
As local business leaders, we are backing devolution because it will mean important decisions about our area will be made locally by empowered local leaders and a newly elected Mayor working together to ensure that Cheshire and Warrington can make the changes we need for our local economy to thrive.
Cheshire and Warrington’s businesses and residents want the chance to gain new skills, access good jobs and shape their future at a local level. Devolution could bring that ambition to life.
With an elected Mayor comes guaranteed multi-year investment, alongside the ability for decisions to be made closer to home by people who know our area best.
From regenerating Crewe and expanding hydrogen innovation in Ellesmere Port, to redeveloping Warrington Bank Quay Station and connecting the Northern Arc, empowered local leaders, working together with a new Mayor can ensure our future is bright.
Local business sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, and we strongly believe there is a fantastic prize to be won for our whole area and the diverse communities across it.
Devolution will provide us with a strong voice at the main tables; at national and regional forums such as the Council of Nations and Regions.
These forums increasingly invite Mayors; without one, we are leaving Cheshire & Warrington isolated without a meaningful say while vital decisions and funding goes elsewhere.
Having a mayor who can articulate the needs of Cheshire and Warrington is essential to make sure we don’t miss out on opportunities and get left behind.
We see devolution as the clearest route to faster decisions, tailored skills, reliable transport, and positive investment and growth opportunities for the local business community.
In today’s economic climate, pragmatic business leaders know one simple truth – whoever controls the funding, and the powers, controls the future. A Mayoral devolution agreement brings those levers home, which is why the local business community is backing it.
As councillors prepare to vote on the proposals in September, we encourage all local councillors to put place before politics and seize this chance now. At a time of national economic challenge and global uncertainty, there is no time to wait if we want our area to benefit from new economic opportunities.
We are ready to work with the councils and a future Mayor to ensure the benefits of devolution reach every town, village, community, and business in our area.
Yours sincerely,
1. Steve Purdham Chair, Westfield Health Chair Cheshire & Warrington Business Advisory Board
2. Terry Hayward Representing all Cheshire Chambers
3. Helen Gbormittah Representing the CBI
4. Jane Hough Representing the Cheshire BIDS
5. Jamie Christon CEO Chester Zoo Chair, Marketing Cheshire
6. Gaurav Batra Chairman, Bolesworth Estate
7. Nichola Newton Principal and CEO Warrington & Vale Royal College
8. Annabel Turpin CEO, StoryHouse
9. Rupert Collis Fisher German LLP
10. Trevor Brocklebank Co-Founder Rise
11. Maggie Chen Co-Founder, Girls in Charge
12. Jan Chillery Chester Business Club
13. Adrian Curry Deputy Chair, Glass Futures Director, Gallo Glass Company
14. Chris Hindley,OBE CEO, Youth Fed
15. Helen Tonks MBE MD, Hydraulics Online
16. Ian Traynor Cheshire Business Group MD Luminate Ventures Chair, Northpoint Ltd NED, ProNetworks Ltd
17. Paul Taylor Vice Chair, Cheshire Business Leaders Director, Taylor Estates, Director, Cheshire
Telecom
18. Andrea Stott, ChangeLogix
19. Jill Jones NED, Dow Schofield Watts
20. Yannis Loucopoulos CEO, Tristone Group
21. Elena Underhill, Chair, Destination Cheshire and Board Member, Marketing Cheshire
22. Kath McKay, Managing Director, Bruntwood Sci-Tech
23. Henry Brookes, Owner, Tatton Estate
24. Annette McDonald, Director of Sustainability and Partnership, Tatton Estate
25. Stephen Fitzsimmons, Chief Executive, Warrington Chamber of Commerce
26. Josh Downes, Executive Development Director, Langtree
27. Professor Eunice Simmons, Vice Chancellor, Chester University
28. Marcus Clinton, Principal, Reaseheath College
29. Jasbir Dhesi, Principal, Cheshire College South and West
30. Helen Nellist, Deputy Principal, Cheshire College South and West
31. Naz Ghodrati, CEO, Warrington Voluntary Action
32. Wayne Gales, CEO, Weaver Vale Housing Trust
33. Steve Coffey, CEO of Torus and Chair of Warrington Town Deal Board
34. Cathy Elliott, CEO, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside
In the private sector, restructuring takes place after careful, analysis. The objectives are always to deliver more effective services at a lower cost. To working to the SMART Principle of Management. Apparently the Labour Government according to BBC have failed to complete any form of detailed analysis. By implication this means the Directors of the Local Authorities have failed to complete ant form of detailed analysis of any cost savings to the Citizens of Cheshire. The level of incompetence is unbelievable. The Business Plan should be published detailing savings to the tax payer.
Re-organisation will be used as an excuse to increase the salaries and pensions of the Directors of organisation that lacks effective management, direction, control, supervision and monitoring. It will be like a Black Hole.
Suggest the citizens of Cheshire East read the BBC website. Angela Raynor has questions to answer, lets hope the opposition parties will hold her to account.
The tax payer of the United Kingdom has become a Cash Cow for incompetence that prevails.
If you check the reasons for not replying to FOI requests you will see how easy it is not to respond.
Presumably, what you are referring to is a refusal to provide the information requested.
But the legislation provides clear guidance on what to do to escalate the process if there’s no response, which is not at all the same thing.
The problem is the Local Authorities within Cheshire and Warrington have a track record which evidences incompetence. They cannot effectively manage the current organisations and deliver value for the tax payer. The theory sounds good and attractive. Words are words, actions are actions and results are everything. Cheshire East Council has failed the Council Tax payers of Cheshire East with a huge amount of money wasted, a lack of skills, care and diligence. In the England and Wales there 8 billion pounds outstanding in up paid council tax. I believe Cheshire East Council has 20 million pounds outstanding. What actions are been taken to recover this debt except the use of bailiffs which is a very outdated form of debt recovery.
The public should have sight of a detailed business plan with full costing and very precise details of savings.
In the private sector many of the executives in Local Authorities would be dismissed under capabilities procedures for incompetence and a failure to deliver value for the tax payers.
Cheshire East I challenge you to publish the detailed Business Plan. This should include the costs of redundancies and costs of pensions.
Remember £1 in £4, is used to pay pensions. For what is a self serving culture within the Local Authorities.
Councillors in Cheshire East are still waiting for Information on the plan to save 21million pounds over the next 4 years.
Trust me this plan will disappear into thin air if you kick down the road for long enough. The elected representatives cannot hold the Directors to account. Yet another example of failure with a capital ‘F’
34 out of how many businesses? I have tried to find, without success the results of the public consultation in CEC’s area eg how many voted for or against. CEC told me to ask my local Councillor for the result. I asked the person to help pursue another simple enquiry again without success. It is evident that CEC do not want the public to know as the results will be so low. Don’t think I will get a response?
A formal Freedom of Information request to Cheshire East Council should produce the relevant data that you’re seeking.